To Heal A Broken Heart
by PalletshippingSolangeloLove
Summary: Set just after BoO SPOILERS! Nico has been scarred over and over again, so when he gets issued three days in the infirmary Nico is sure that, mentally, he will never repair. But a certain demi-god is determined to heal his broken heart. Solangelo! Don't like? Don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, sorry i haven't posted for a while but here is my second story! This one is solangelo though. Enjoy** **J**

Nico studied his face – his sea-green eyes, his grin his ruffled black hair. Somehow Percy Jackson seemed like a regular guy now, not a mythical figure. Not someone to idolize or crush on.

"So," Nico said, "Since we're going to be spending at least a year seeing each other at camp, I think I should clear the air."

Percy's smile wavered. "What do you mean?"

"For a long time," Nico said, "I had a crush on you. I just wanted you to know."

Percy looked at Nico. Then at Annabeth, as if to check that he'd heard correctly. Then back at Nico. "You-"

"Yeah," Nico said, "You're a great person. But I'm over that. I'm happy for you guys."

"You... So you mean-"

"Right."

Annabeth's gray eyes began to sparkle. She gave Nico a sideways smile.

"Wait," Percy said. "So you mean-"

"Right," Nico said again. "But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now... you're cute, but you're not my type."

"I'm not your type... Wait. So-"

"See you round Percy." Nico said. "Annabeth."

She raised her hand for a high-five.

Nico obliged. Then he walked back across the green, to where Will Solace was waiting.

 _Fuck. What did I just do?_ Nico thought in a panic, unable to believe what he just did. As he walked, he noticed Will's previous anger had subsided a bit and he wore a dazing smile. Nico almost smiled back but then pushed it down. He was Nico di Angelo. A demi-god such as Will Solace wasn't enough to make him smile... Right? _Of course that's right; he's just a measly, annoying son of Apollo._ Nico put on his scowl and looked at Will.

"So," Will started. "What was that? Percy looks like he's seen a ghost!" Nico frowned as Will realised what he'd said. "No pun intended, sorry." He added hastily. The blond coughed awkwardly, then, seeming to remember his previous thought said, "Oh, and, you and I are going to the infirmary. Now."

Nico's scowl deepened, having the opposite effect on the older boy in front of him.

"No."

Will's determined expression looked supposed for a moment then returned. "What?"

"I said no."

"Nico-"

"Do you know who I am? I'm-"

"An idiotic boy who needs rest, medicine and help after disobeying me by almost turning into a shadow completely. You're coming with me."

Nico's eyes widened. "Tomorrow."

To Nico's amazement, Will smiled.

"Ok. We can start tomorrow -" Nico smirked, "-so you have a full three days in the infirmary instead of two and three- quarters." And with that he walked off.

Nico's smirk dropped off his face as he cursed. He didn't want to admit defeat but Will's logic was- well, logical. He sighed and jogged up to the son of Apollo.

"I'll go to the infirmary..."

Will grin could of lit up 3 thousand stars as he smiled and together they walked slowly to the infirmary.

 **Oh my gods that was a short chapter! The other chapters will be much longer, I promise! One review= A hug from Will Solace!**

 **Bye!**

 **ThePalletshippingSolangeloGirl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys, new chapter! Hope you liked the last one and i hope you'll love this one!**

AS Nico and Will walked to the infirmary, Jason ran over. Nico had completely forgotten they were talking before Will had beckoned him!

"Where are you two going?" He enquired with a smile.

"This doufus is forcing me into staying at the infirmary." Nico grumbled, glaring at the blond next to him.

"You're the one take almost turned into a shadow!" Will protested "Plus, you didn't say hi once over that last few days!"

"You had your cabin mates."

Will frowned, "They're my brothers and sisters Nico. I see them 24/7, it's nothing special."

"At least you have brothers and sisters."

Will seemed speechless for a short while before opening his mouth to speak "Well-"

"Sorry to break up your little argument but, um, well I wouldn't like to spend my last moment of freedom arguing. You can do that later." Jason stated with an eye-brow raised. "Also, when are you changing cabin 13, Nico? I just told Piper you're plans and she wants to help. That also goes for Reyna too. And Annabeth. And... Percy." Jason tensed a bit there

"Percy?" Nico was astounded. He literally only just talked him! Why..."Whatever. Anyway, I'll probably be decorating after these three days are up."

"Ok! Have fun!" Jason winked at Nico before running off.

"Why did he..." Oh. Will. He was SO going to be the death of Grace.

"You're redecorating? Can I help?" Will asked while they walked to the infirmary once again.

Skeletal butterflies resurrected in the brunette's stomach once again. Will wanted to help him? Why? Well, it made sense, kind of. This was the boy that put the words _Nico di Angelo_ and _friendly face_ in the same concept.

"Yeah, I guess..." Nico mumbled

Will grinned and started babbling about decor and colour while Nico allowed himself a tiny smile. Maybe, just maybe, these three days weren't going to be _complete_ hell.

 _Shit._ That word... Hell. Nico felt dizzy remembering his own experience with hell. _Well done di Angelo. You managed to forcefully push yourself into a flash back._ He mentally scolded himself before screaming out loud to get Will attention and everything went black...

 **Well I hope you liked that kind-off-cliffhanger! Jason's already getting the solangelo feel *wiggles eyebrows* and a ope you all are too. One review= BLUE PANCAKES!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Im SOOO sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time! But now, behold chapter 3!**

 _As Nico took another step forward, he screamed out in pain. He couldn't take it! Akhlys was right, in misery, he was perfect. He was alone, uncared for, pushed aside. But then again, he couldn't blame the haters. He hated himself more than anyone else. And it was for more than just being the hide –away son of Hades. He had to be... Ugh. What his local priest would of called 'A sinner that has commented the most evil sins.' And that was when he was nice about it._

 _"_ _Gay."_

 _Nico jumped to his feet as fast as possible when he heard that word._

 _"_ _Thats what you are. Gay. Brother of Hilter, child of Hades. And if thats not enough, you had to be gay." The voice seemed to be all around him._

 _"_ _Gaia..." He growled_

 _"_ _Don't fight demi-god. It's all worthless. Join me..." the voice whispered "Give in and join me... My sons will be here any minute anyway so what's the point in struggling. What's the point... In... You. "_

 _Nico could feel tears gathering in his eyes. "No. The Doors, I have to find them." He could feel him waving into a sleep. Bad. "For Percy and the others..."_

 _"_ _Percy Jackson ripped your heart out without a care and you want to help him?" The voice laughed quietly. "Go to sleep Nico di Angelo. It will be better if you don't fight my twins..." Nico was about to faint from pure exhaustion and terror of himself when another voice spoke. "NICO!"_

 _Nico started. That voice wasn't Gaia. Who- "NICO, WAKE UP!" Will! Nico leapt up and tried to concentrate. This isn't real. This isn't real and Will needs him to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!_

Nico slowly opened his eyes. How long was he out?

"Nico!" Will's obnoxious blond hair came into view with the rest of his face. "Oh gods, Nico, how, why-"

"Doesn't matter." Nico crocked "How long have I been here?" He wasn't in a bed when he blacked out, he was outside.

"3 hours... I was worried, you started to fade!" Will voice cracked.

Will was... Worried? About Nico? Why?

 _Gay_

Gaia's voice came back in his mind, echoing the word. Nico could feel the tears threatening to spill as he remembered the hardship of those years of self hate. Somehow, Nico could tell Will knew that his waters lay deeper than anyone come ever imagine.

"I am here, you know, to talk to Nico." Will whispered, holding his gaze. "No one can hold secrets in forever." Will tentively reached out and lightly touched Nico's shoulder. A shock was sent though Nico's body again as he jerked back. He opened his mouth to tell Solace to shut up when Gaia came back to him.

 _What's the point... In... You._

Nico's shoulders drooped as a tear fell off his cheek. Quiet sobs came out of the son of Hades as he felt Will's arms wrap round him and heard the infirmary go silent.

 **Chapter 3 complete! Review, follow, whatever makes you happy and we can go on this journey together.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am a very bad person for not posting. Sorry! Enjoy this chapter as my sorry gift.**

After a thankfully dreamless sleep, Nico awoke once again. What had happened? Nico couldn't quite remember after breaking down but he must of fallen asleep. Jason's head appeared in Nico's line of view.

Nico scowled "Do you mind? I was looking at the ceiling."

Jason grinned a bit. "Sorry. Do you want to sit up?"

Nico sighed and sat up. Next to Jason stood Piper with a small smile in her face. Nico had never really talked to the daughter of Aphrodite but she was one of Hazel's best friends.

"What are you guys here for?" Nico asked. This was the 3rd time he had an encounter with the son of Jupiter and he was wandering what on earth he would want now.

"Will called us."

Nico's eye's narrowed. "Why?"

Jason shrugged, "Said we were better friend with you and that you might need some support."

"We just want to help Nico." Piper smiled softly at him. "We want to be your friends."

Nico sighed. Pushing everything away had always worked for him. But maybe it was time to change his life strategy.

"Ok."

Jason's eyes lit up. "Really? Wait, what are you ok-ing us with?"

Nico looked the blond in the eye. "I'll try for friends."

Piper smiled. "You already have friends. Reyna, Coach and all of the seven..." She sighed. "Well, the remaining seven."

Nico frowned. He had more friends than he realised. "So... what do I do?"

Jason grinned, "Start with Will." And he walked out.

Nico growled. He turned to Piper. "Can you tell your boyfriend to A. Stop making shity, dramatic exits, and B. Stop being so annoying?"

Piper smiled. "I'll tell him the first one but I agree with him that Will would a good first" And with that, she mirrored Jason's exit.

Nico yelled at them both from his bed but after he stopped, he had a moment to him self. Maybe Will was a good starting point. He allowed himself a minuscule smile. Maybe these three days really weren't going to be that bad.

 **Bam, done, new chapter coming up! I'll try and post more frequently now.**

 **Please review, bye!**

 **ThePalletshippingSolangeloGirl**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah I know, "Good updating hun!" but I was on a no Wi-Fi holiday so, yeah.**

 **We left off with shity exits and epiphanies on friends so we will now continue...**

As Nico though about life and did other dangerous activities, Will came up to him.

"So, nice chat with Jason and Piper?" Will smiled

"Yeah, it was good I guess."

"I guess? Why I-" He looked up, "Celestine, I know the temptation but no dancing in the infirmary."

A blonde haired girl from the other side of the infirmary smiled at them. "Sorry Will!" She laughed "But I didn't ask to be blessed!"

"Well I didn't ask to be handsome and I still deal with it!" The girl- Celestine- laughed good naturedly before going back to work. Will turned to Nico, "Sorry about that, she's my Roman sister."

"What did she mean, blessed?"

"Oh, that lucky girl got the blessing of Terpsichore."

Nico looked at him blankly.

"Goddess of Dance. She's one of the Muses. Dancing is Celestine's love and music is her soul. Not a bad healer too!"

Nico raised his eye brow, "I see you have a high opinion of yourself?"

Will laughed but Nico heard a nervous edge in it. "Well you can't go around moping about how you look. You're stuck with that face so deal with it."

Nico thought about that for a moment. "Hu, handsome and inspirational." He said quietly.

"Thank you, you're not a bad looker yourself."

Nico turned a crimson shade. Did he just say that?! "Uh, I, um.."

"Don't worry." Will grinned, "It brought colour to your face, so you look a little less like death."

The son of Hades scowled, "Of course I look like death. I AM death!"

Will smiled while getting some pills, muttering something about Nico being adorable underneath. The raven haired boy glared at the son of Apollo but felt nice inside. Like he'd already achieved getting Will as a friend. And he did look a teensy bit handsome. Just a little. Nico quietly lay down and closed his eyes while will was still fumbling around. A few seconds later, Will turned round to see Nico asleep, living up to his name, looking angelic.

 **Aww, Nico sleeping is probably in the list of Top 10 Thing to Make PJO Fangirls Fangirl.**

 **Please review and together we can what Nico in his sleep. That sounded creepy... Oh well!**

 **Bye,**

 **ThePalletShippingSolangeloGirl**


	6. Chapter 6

**HIIIII!**

 **School's started, oh joy. I'm not apologising for a late chapter because they're all late so, whatever. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **(A/N Skipperty skip, I can't be bothered to write day 2 and day 3)**

Finally, after three days of prison, Nico was free. Although he said prison, between the bickering and the petty fighting, Will was good company. A few time's, Nico had been close to laughing at the stupidity of the blond boy. He'd learnt a few things too. A number of Will's siblings liked his favourite bands such as Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance and Sleeping With Sirens. Will had said that he liked... others.

" _So what do you like." Nico asked Will absentmindedly._

 _Will blushed. "Oh, others..." He swallowed._

 _Nico took one look at him and smiled. "One Direction,5SOS and... Sam Smith." Will blushed harder. Nico's eyes lit up, "And Taylor Swift!"_

 _"_ _Shut up! Yes, I like all of them... Don't tell."_

 _Nico almost laughed but instead shook his head. "Will, it's fine. No one cares. Just be yourself." Nico frowned. Did he mention the he hated it when his advice came back to him?_

Nico smiled at the memory.

He looked round and saw Annabeth. She caught his eye and almost immediately started running towards him. She smiled at him, "Hi Nico. Is your three days up?"

He was about reply when a voice came from behind him, "Yes, he is officially free!"

Nico turned around to see Will Solace leaning against the door. The son of Hades scowled and turned to Annabeth. "What he said."

"Great, because we're all wanting to make a start on the Hades cabin."

Nico frowned, "Who's _'we'?"_

"The Argo II crew and Reyna."

"And me!" Will chipped in.

Nico thought about it. That sounded like a group of people he could put up with. "Ok."

The two in front of him smiled so wide , Nico thought they were going to explode. "Let's go."

And he started walking towards the Hades cabin. Annabeth sprinted ahead while Will and Nico walked.

"Why do you want to help so much?" Nico asked. He had only known the boy for three days.

"Because otherwise you'd miss me terribly, obviously."

Nico blushed, though he wasn't sure why. "Shut up Solace."

Will smiled and nudged his arm as the two of them got to cabin 13.

 **Eh, that chapter was alright I guess but oh well. Please review for me!**

 **ThePalletShippingSolangeloGirl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ahhh... School has begun. Shit.**

 **Here is the next chapter: (Also, the way the Hades cabin is set out is what it's like in my mind.)**

When the two got to Cabin 13 most people when there already.

"All right, now we're just waiting for Hazel and Frank." Percy announced. As if on cue, a giant hellhound appeared out of nowhere, carrying –who'da guessed it? - Hazel and Frank!

"Oh-kay, ignore that last one. We are all here! Let's make Nico's cabin fabulous!" Percy yelled.

Nico suppressed a smile as Percy pumped his fist in the air. Suddenly all eyes turned on him.

Will spoke, "So Neeks-" "Don't call me that." "-what do you want for this palace?"

"Well... I'M no architect but we do happen to have the architect of Olympus here so," Nico turned to Annabeth, "What does she propose we do?"

Annabeth smiled as she was obviously in her element. "Well for starters, the beds obviously can't be good as you guys aren't vampires. We also need new paint on the walls. Obsidian is good stuff but I'm thinking deep purple with diamonds to complement the design. Also, a roof window pointing upwards at a 20 degree angle at every corner of the cabin will be sure to let in enough light without having to spoil the walls with windows. Although a window on top of the entrance wouldn't go amiss." Annabeth looked round at everyone, "That's all we'll do for now and that will take about a week and a half. Does anyone have any objections?"

Will stepped forward. "I do. Who is the diamond supplier?"

"Hazel."

"Oh, ok." He thought for a moment before adding, "A rainbow would go amiss either, right?"

Annabeth laughed, "I don't know what Nico will say to that."

Nico scowled. "Why on earth would I have a rainbow?"

"Well I would." Said Solace.

"Why?"

"'Cause a lil' bit of gay brings beautiful sunshine."

Nico stood still for a moment. Did he just say he was gay? "You what?"

"I'm gay, sunshine."

Nico stood still again, and this time he could feel the tension in the air. "Solace, I 'm not having rainbows in my cabin."

"Why ever not Nicolas?"

"Bec- Thats not even my name!"

"Well it sounds cu-"

Hazel stood between them. "Um, lets just get on with the renovation."

"Ok..." Nico looked at Percy who was smirking. "What?!"

"It was like watching a married couple."

Will chuckled as Nico told him to shut up.

"Now, let's get on with the building." Annabeth said. "We need to plan measurements."

Percy lifted up his hand, "Onwards to the Athena Cabin!" And the small group ran to cabin 6.

 **That's it for now! I might not post for a while (Again) because school started so I just hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review so I can make my writing better.**

 **Bye!**

 **ThePalletshippingSolangeloGirl**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hiiiii ^_^**

 **Your next chapter awaits so lets gooo!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing exept the names of the other Athena children**

When they reached cabin 6, Annabeth opened the door carefully and motioned for them all to come inside.

"Why are we being so carful?" Percy whispered.

"Because if you disturb ANY Athena child while they're reading or planning or anything at all, they will attack you." replied Annabeth. As they stepped into Cabin 6, Annabeth told then to all stay where they were. The daughter of Athena herself crept over to Malcom from behind and leant into his ear...

"HEY MALCOM WE NEED MEASUREMENTS FOR THE HADES CABIN!"

The nine demi-gods behind her just stared at this unexpected behaviour as Malcom quickly jumped back in a fighting stance with the look of utter horror on his face. Annabeth on the other hand had tears of laughter running down her face as another one of her laughing siblings supported her.

"Oh my... Never laughed so hard ever... Take that Malcom!" Annabeth said between breaths.

"What is going on..." Nico whispered to no one in particular.

"I have absolutely no idea." Whispered Will

"Um, Annabeth? What is... Happening?" Asked Jason.

Annabeth was still laughing but Malcom answered for her. "I played a prank on Josie, Annabeth and Benedict the other day in the run up to Halloween and they promised revenge. I'm guessing that wasn't the full package but the Athena cabin have now split into a three way prank war on the run up to Halloween."

As Annabeth finally stopped laughing, she walked up to Malcom, "Serious this time, we need measurements."

"Well let's work then!"

As the rest of the Athena cabin got out paper and measuring tapes, Jason spoke up,

"As much as I want to be with you and help out, I know nada on measuring or architecture."

Annabeth smiled, "Don't worry, we'll sort out everything. You guy just relax while we get this done."

The demi-god smiled in thanks and all except Percy left cabin 6.

Nico started walking in the direction of Cabin Thirteen. As he drew closer and looked up at the dark cabin, he started to think about all the changes that where going to happen to it. It exited him really. The thought of finally getting rid of the deep, dark, scary attire that seemed to stereotype children of Hades could start to edge away. ' _That'll make it easier for Hazel.'_ He told himself. He personally couldn't give a damn what others thought of him anymore. He was himself and nothing more or less and if people didn't want him around, tough. He was staying.

As he finally reached his cabin, it dawned on him that sleeping might be a problem. For some reason, after the blackout he had while walking to the infirmary, nightmares hadn't haunted him. Somehow, Nico doubted the same phenomenon would take place tonight.

' _It could have been because Will was there'_ Suggested a part of his brain.

Nico brushed that aside. Just because Will was there, didn't mean that he was the reason for the lack of nightmares. Nico sighed. He would just have to grin and bear it and hopefully- with about three years of therapy- he would sleep well once again.

After that thought, he realised that he was sitting on his bed. Seemed his legs automatically took him there.

 _Will..._

Nico half wished that he stupid theory was correct and staying with Will would keep the past away. But on the other hand... Wait. Didn't Will say... He was gay too? Of course Nico never told Will that they shared the same sexuality but still.

 _So? Sharing the same sexuality doesn't mean anything. Nothing. You don't like him like that and he doesn't like you. Speak of the devil, I think that's him now._

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Nico yelled. As suspected, a mop of brilliantly bright hair came in to the cabin.

"Hey Nico." Will smiled.

"Hey." Nico responded.

"Um... Annabeht said that you can't sleep in this cabin while the building is here."

Nico frowned. He couldn't sleep here? Where was he going to sleep?

"Ok... Where am I sleeping then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Jason offered he cabin to share."

Nico felt slightly disappointed that Will didn't offer the Apollo cabin but he didn't mull over it. "Ok. That's cool."

Will looked a bit sad that he didn't object but then again, Will didn't offer his cabin. "Ok I'll tell him that." He looked at the ground "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah." What on earth did Will want to talk about?

Will sat on the bed with Nico. "There were some rumours that you were frozen in time for a while." Nico nodded "And that you came from the 1930's." Nico gave another nod. "So when I said all the stuff about rainbows and... Other things, I just hope you weren't uncomfortable and there is nothing bad between us." He tried for a smile. "So are we ok?"

Nico was glad that Will took into consideration how he felt about things so he tried for a smile too. "Everything is the same as it was when I left the infirmary."

Will's relief was evident on his face. "That's good." He looked at the bed they were sitting on. "Do you mind if I lie down?" Nico shook his head as Will lay down. A few seconds of silence past.

"Have you ever experienced heartbreak?" Will asked suddenly

Nico was quiet for a second before saying, "Yes."

"I have. It killed me." The blond's eyebrows furrowed. "Metaphorically of course."

Nico snorted.

"Nico?"

"Yes?"

"Can... Can I try... Just for a bit... To heal you broken heart?"

Nico frowned. "What?"

"Nothing."

A period of silence followed as small snores came from the son of Apollo's mouth.

Nico smiled slightly. "Yes. You can Will." And just sat there, staring at the boy as he slept.

 **So that was slightly longer but I was reading though and everything happened too fast and nothing was right so I'm going to try to be a better author. Thanks for reading and please review.**

 **Bye ^-^**

 **ThePalletshippingSolangeloGirl**

 **PS please leave a review on what to change the end of my name to because I have recently realised that I am bigender so ThePalletshippingSolangeloGIRL doesn't really make sense to me.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hiiiii**

 **WHO MENTIONED HALLWEEN IN THEIR LAST CHAPTER?**

 **ME**

 **WHAT DATE IS IT NOW?**

 **THE 20** **TH** **OF NOVEMBER**

 **I am a bad person...**

 **There will be Halloween in this but I will do the Christmas chapters on time. I hope. Hmm.**

After around an hour, Nico still wasn't tired of watching the son of Apollo sleep. It was rhythmic and slightly amusing the way he slept. For starters, Will breathed pretty heavily in a constant beat. His chest rose and fell and a strand of hair had fallen in front of his face. Usually, Nico would have tried to put it back with the rest of the golden mess but Will's breath was making it float and then slowly come back down. It was quite relaxing really. Nico was think how they went from an arrogant pair of big heads, one trying to be smart and the other putting them down with their own logic, to friends, taking turns in watching each other sleep. He smiled at the sleeping boy.

Then suddenly Will's peaceful face contorted into one filled with pain and fear. He gripped his arm and dug his nails in hard and Nico jumped up.

"Will!" Nico cried, crouching at the pained boy's level. "WILL!" Nico went to shake his arm but Will's reflexes were amazing when he slept. The blond's arms flew out and grabbed Nico hard and threw him on his back.

"WILL WAKE UP!" Nico screamed and finally, Will's eyes shot open. His face went from confused to fear and horror. Nico stared at him.

"What..."

Will looked down. After a few seconds of silence, Will spoke. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

Nico was shocked. He knew demi-gods had nightmares but he never expected Will's to be so vivid and mentally horrifying. He wondered what Will had been though.

 _"Have you ever experienced heartbreak?" Will asked suddenly_

 _Nico was quiet for a second before saying, "Yes."_

 _"I have. It killed me." The blond's eyebrows furrowed. "Metaphorically of course."_

Could... Well, what heart break could have been that bad?

Nico suddenly felt warmth towards the boy. He hadn't felt this since travelling with Reyna and Coach when Reyna started talking about her father. He wanted to comfort Will and hold him like how Will had held him after he broke down in the Infirmary.

"It's ok..." Nico whispered in reply. Will looked like he was ready to cry. Nico frowned. He should say something.

"Look, um, are you ok?" He cringed. What question was that? Of course he wasn't ok! "I mean, well, what happened?" Damn he was bad at comforting.

A ghost of a smile came on Will's face. "You can be so awkward sometimes." Will sighed and looked up. "I'll tell you later. Just... Don't mention it to my siblings. Or Lou Ellen and Cecil. Or... Just don't tell. Please? They all think the nightmares have stopped. I don't want to worry them or anything."

Nico understood him perfectly. Of course he wasn't going to tell anyone without Will's consent. But how long had these been going on for? Why were they haunting him? What- _Stop. It's none of you business._

"I'm not going to tell." Nico said softly. "But are you just going to hide the fact that happened?"

"Look, what happened here, please drop it. Nothing happened. I had a sleep. You watched me." Nico went slightly red. "Yes, di Angelo, I can't exactly see the future but I am conscious of my surroundings. Maybe not specific people but I know what is happing."

Nico was impressed. That's how Will reaction to Nico's hand was so fast.

"Ok, that's the story." Nico said, heading for the door. Will came up and fell in step with him.

"Um... Nico?"

"Yeah?"

Will frowned. "Do you want to... Instead of Jason... Maybe- " He sighed. "Sit with me at the camp-fire?"

Nico rolled his eyes at Will's "smooth" asking technique. "Yeah, ok."

"And... You want to go trick-or-treating with Lou-Ellen, Cecil and me?"

This question caught Nico off guard. That was so childish. And... well, Nico had never been trick-or-treating. "Uh, ok? But we can't go into New York, there are monsters."

Will smirked. "Lou-Ellen has a few tricks."

Will and Nico were now almost at the pavilion for dinner, while some Athena kids were chasing each other, presumably having something to do with the prank-war. "Ok. I'll go."

Will smiled. "Great."

 **Whoo!**

 **I'll try for a new chapter in a few days but that's it for now.**

 **I put Will in the position of victim of nightmares because Will seemed self conscious in the book with his healing abilities and I need it for later in the story.**

 **I found a new name which was great and life is going alright. I think I'll put stories I want to write in my bio so you get a taste of what is yet to come. PS, I'm listening to Misty by NateWantsToBattle atm. Juuuussst sayin'**

 **Bye,**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hayyy.**

 **So this is the very-very-very-very-late Halloween chapter and credit to Brunagonda for my inspiration for the characters outfits. There will be cut outs as this chapter is going to be really long so the whole trick-or-treating affair will be a montage-like piece of writing.**

 **Let's go!**

It was finally Halloween at Camp Half-Blood and Nico was slightly surprised at how festive everyone was. He couldn't go anywhere without someone talking about the best places for candy and how they're going to hid their demi-god scent. It was starting to annoy Nico.

It didn't help that he had no idea what he would wear. Whenever he passed someone, they seemed to think he was going to be a zombie or a skeleton. Some people thought he was even going as his father! The talk of the event had been only going on for a day or two but Nico was already one hundred percent done with it. The only thing that stopped him hibernating in Jason's cabin for the night was the fact that he was going with Will, Lou Ellen and Cecil. The seven will probably come too, as Jason seemed to have taking role of Nico's big brother with Percy as "Bro Number 2". Nico sighed, it was already four in the afternoon and he still didn't know what to do. So he decided that very moment that he was going to ask Will for help.

As he strolled to the infirmary, Cecil ran up to him from the direction from the lake.

"Hey Nico!" Cecil puffed.

"Hey."

Cecil fell in step with him. "So," he started, "What'cha being for Halloween?"

Nico scowled and sighed. "I really don't know. I was counting on Will having a plan."

Cecil laughed. "Yeah, I was too. But Lou Ellen told me to kick start my brain and think of my own costume. So I'm going to be a boot!"

Nico frowned.

Cecil rolled his eyes comically, "To _kick start?_ Get it?" He grinned at Nico's face. "Yeah, it's terrible but taking the piss out of Lou Ellen is fun. Banter."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. As they reached the infirmary, Cecil turned to a different direction. Nico stopped as Cecil turned. "Well I'd better be going for 'hero-training' and costume making." Nico nodded in response. As Cecil stared walking away, the son of Hermes called over his shoulder, "Have fun Mr. Cheerful. And don't disappoint tonight!"

"I'll try!" Nico called after Cecil as the son of Hermes walked away. He grinned to himself as he walked into the infirmary. As he looked up and down the rows of beds he saw Will at the end, talking to a patient.

As the boy finished talking, Nico called out his name. Will turned suddenly with a startled expression before it almost immediately changed into a face of warmth and joy. The transition happed so fast Nico wondered if it had been there in the first place. It reminded him of yesterday when Will had the nightmare. It also reminded him of last night in Jason's cabin. Nico had so desperately wanted to sleep in the Apollo cabin but, alas, he had his little camping bed in the Zeus cabin. Jason tried to reassure him everything would be fine but when grasped by the hands of sleep, Nico was haunted once again. The nightmare wasn't as bad as usual but it disturbed him never the less. It consisted of Nico walking through Pompeii with Reyna and the coach with Will appearing to be right in front of them but he would always step back as soon as Nico stepped forward. It was strange...

"Hi!" The blond called out while walking up to Nico. Nico's mood was lifted as Will came closer. He really was taking a liking to the son of Apollo and found his presence a pleasure. He hadn't felt like this since... Well since Percy rescued him and Bianca from Dr. Thorn. He liked the feeling but was cautious of it. Love was a powerful thing. And although he had never really confirmed it in his mind, he was pretty damn sure that he was falling down that endless tunnel once again.

Will smiled at him for a moment before saying, "So, what do you need?"

A piece of Will's hair had floated down from the golden mop, just by his sapphire eye and it took all of Nico's willpower to stop him from fixing it. Will frowned and felt by his eye before his hand fell on the strand and laughed. "Sorry if that bothered you. My hair isn't very obedient."

"Yeah, I can see." Nico smiled. Then he remembered his reason for being there. "On an unrelated topic, do you have any idea what I could be for Halloween?"

Will frowned, "Don't you have ideas?" Nico sighed and told Will the suggestions that other campers had made. "And you don't want any of those?"

"No!" Nico cried. No one seemed to see that his father didn't represent who he was or what he like or anything. "I... I just don't know what to be..."

Will was silent for a moment.

"Could you give into the stereotypes in an unexpected way?"

"What?"

"Doesn't Italy have some day of the dead?" Will said uncertainly. "Or was that France..."

Nico rolled his eyes but was thankful. Will just might have the answer. "It's Mexico Will. On the Day of the Dead, or _Dia de los Muertos_ in Spanish, they put on colourful masks and remember their loved ones who pasted away. I went to it a few years back."

Will smiled. "I think you've got your answer then Sunshine." He winked, "See you tonight."

As he walked away, Nico felt the butterflies in his stomach once again. He was most defiantly not going to disappoint tonight.

 ** _Skippaty skip, the rest of the day is quick._**

After a last check in the mirror, Piper's siblings had finally let him leave. Although they were annoying and fussed over every little thing, Nico was very grateful for their help, as he would of had no idea whatsoever where to start. It was getting on to 7:30 and Nico had been in there for a good three hours and every second was worth it. Nico had the ideas on the costume but it was the Aphrodite kids who had put it all into action. Nico saw his reflection in a cabin window and for the billionth time thought how different he looked.

For starters his hair was shorter as the long, messy hair didn't really fit with this occasion. There was just enough gel in the black mop to give the front of it a spring but the back and sides were just combed so it was silky and soft. He had a plain white shirt on that had mid-length sleeves and a loosely tied lace up collar. A pair of simple black jeans hung loosely on him and he wore some plain black converse.

The most amazing part of him was the make-up. The Aphrodite cabin had painted the whole of his upper body snow white and painted black around his eyes. His lips had black lines too but the most beautiful part was the colourful flowers dotted all over his face, arms and torso, just like a skeleton from _Dia de los Muertos_. He grinned. Tonight was already going well.

As he walked up to the Apollo Cabin, he wondered what Will was going as. He knew what Cecil's costume was from their conversation earlier and he had overheard that Lou Ellen was going as a dementor. He just didn't know want Will would be.

He started thinking about tonight. He'd never been trick-or-treating before. He actually didn't see the appeal really. You dress up and get free candy with your friends. Nothing much. He never went in Italy and he missed quite a few (more than a few) Halloween's while he was stuck in the Lotus Casino. He sighed. When would Will come...

The Apollo door swung open and a dark figure came out. Nico was alarmed and confused before recognising what it was. Complete with a black robe, raven hat and crow-like mask, a Plague Doctor was leering down at him. Nico smirked. _Amazing._

"Hello Doctor." He said as he crossed his arms.

Will took off his mask. "Hi!" He lifted his arms. "You like it?"

Nico smiled. "I love it." He could swear that there was a blush on the older boy's cheeks but it was too dark to confirm. "Let's go."

As they walked towards the campfire, where all the demi-gods seemed to be congregating to, Will started talking.

"So, how many Halloweens have you celebrated?"

Nico looked down and muttered that this was his first one. Will abruptly stopped.

"Really?"

Nico sighed. Why was this such a big deal? He most certainly wasn't going to take any of Will pity. As he stared at Will, waiting for more "Oh my gods Nico, you poor, lonely, sad child!" or anything more ridiculous, Will's face broke out into a smile and he suddenly grabbed Nico's hands.

"This is going to be the best Halloween ever then! I'm going to make your first one your best! And if we go down that avenue..." Will let go of one of Nico's hands but started walking ahead, still attached to the other one. Nico didn't know if he purposely did that or it was just a small mistake in the art of the Street/Halloween plan Will seemed to be devising. He didn't mind though, and so he just kept walking...

Once they met up with the seven (or six...), Lou Ellen and Cecil, they set off under the protection of very thick mist. Nico was disappointed that Reyna couldn't come, but apparently something needed taking care of in New Rome, so she wasn't able to come. It was a shame that someone so close couldn't be here but he was going round with plenty of others so he just hoped that she was having a good time at Camp Jupiter. Will still hadn't let go of his hand and he wasn't even planning anything. Nico hoped that that was a good sign and just relaxed.

The rest of the night was a blur of streets, other children and candy. One memorable moment was the Mexican lady who thought Nico was Spanish.

 _Percy knocked on the 20_ _th_ _door of the night so far and almost instantly, it was opened._

 _"_ _Hola chiquellos!" A friendly looking woman stood at the door, holding a bowl full of candy. As she gave them all a few sweets each, her eyes landed on Nico and lit up with recognisation._ _"_ _Oh, Dia de los Muertos, si, si. ¿Tienes_ _español Señor"_ _Nico let out a small laugh. "No Senora, soy Italiano._ _Disculpe por la confusión."_

 _Although he was Italian, Reyna had taught him that much, so there was no confusion in Spanish speaking countries. All the other teens surrounding him were looking at him with mildly puzzled expression and Nico was getting slightly annoyed that they were at this house for so long. Apparently the Mexican woman noticed and quickly gave Nico some candy, apologising politely and waved them goodbye, before gently closing the door in their faces. As the surprise wore off, they went to the next house, and Will once again took Nico hand (having dropped it during the poor Spanish conversation)._

 _"_ _I didn't know you spoke Spanish." Will said as they walked on._

 _"_ _Yeah, well, I'm a man of many talents..." And the night continued._

After filling their buckets up to the max, the group of them came back to Camp Half-Blood at around half eleven. After a few goodnights, the group started to disperse. Once again, Nico's hand felt the beautiful warmth of Will's fingers slipping into his. As he turned around, tired after so much in one night, Will instantly pulled him into a hug. Nico flushed, but didn't pull away. The night had been amazing and this was the cherry on the cake to top it off. He didn't want to pull away, but eventually, he had to. Will looked at his for a while, seemingly wanting to ask something. After another long period of waiting, Will finally spoke,

"DoyouwantotsleepintheApollocabin?"

"What Sunshine?"

Will sighed, "Do you... You don't have to you know... but I thought... Well, do you want to stay in to Apollo cabin tonight?"

Nico smiled. This night just got better. "Yeah, but I need to get my stuff from-"

"Youcouldjustshareabed."

Nico frowned. Damn Solace, slow down. "Ok, if you're ok with that."

Will nodded and the two of them headed toward the golden cabin, gleaming in the dark.

 **So yeah, long chapter. And a Halloween one three days before Christmas! Got to be honest though, I wasn't going to do one as it wasn't the season anymore, but yeah! Hopefully a Christmas one on time or only a few days late?** **Lets aim for that. Plus, I only started learning Spanish at the start of this year so I'm not to great. Sorry! (I also learn Latin. Just saying.)**

 **Please review and express your thoughts on this chapter and tell me if, even though it was REALLY late, did it get you into the halloween mood? Or the solangelo mood? Or did you read this through and think "Well that was a waste of time."? Whatever the thoughts please review. And also stick with me. My reads seem to go down as the stories progress and I need those reads people!**

 **Thanks x**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**

 **Spanish translation**

 **"** **The day of the day, yes,yes. Are you Spanish sir?"**

 **"** **No, I'm Italian, sorry for the confusion."**


	11. Chapter 11 (Not Quite Christmas)

**Not quite Christmas but I just want to say: I'm not dead. I made a promise and I'm keeping it.**

 **Also (I give so many of these notes wtf) i say in this that it's minus one degrees in this chapter (it's December, i'm british, I have no idea what the weather pattens are like in New York) THIS IN CELCIUS FOR ALL YOU FARENTHITE FREAKS. *Ahem***

 **You can read now**

After Halloween, Nico felt a new confidence settle into him. He was still cautious of people, sudden neglection, random awkwardness for no reasons he fully understood and Will's friendliness to turn into annoyance and for another broken heart. But at the same time, he was relaxed and for once in his life, he felt accepted. And he moved into the Apollo cabin. That was possibly the best part of each day; knowing that a nightmare-free night was heading his way. He at first didn't move his stuff out of the Zeus cabin, but after a few (more like a Hades of a lot) suggestive looks and eye wiggles from Jason and Percy, he decided he might as well collect them, just to stop his friends.

The whole of November was just a fun whirlwind of training, Will and Co. (name from Piper and Lou Ellen as they said that that's basically what they were. Co. But they didn't mind), a few monster defeats (which were pretty easy, considering the previous months) and a whole load of jamming out to Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy with the Apollo cabin (Who were basically his family now). He somehow found time for flying visits and whole days out with Reyna in New Rome and he was the official "Kid-protector" for Coach and Mellie

 _"_ _You got some spunk kid. Almost more spunk than me and -don't say anything,- I know you are very grateful for that complement," Nico looked at Will who was standing next to him. Will raised his eyebrows. ", And I know how much you want to be a great satyr like me, but you can't. So I'm giving you the next best option. Be my kid-protector." Coach Hedge finished his offer with his hand spread out and a confident look on his face._

 _Nico blinked. "Wow, Gleeson, I'll take the post... If you want I guess..."_

So, along with Reyna, Jason and Piper, the Kid-Squad was born in November.

Nico remembered the fateful day it all changed. For better or for worse, December came. And on the first day, _the first bloody day,_ Nico woke up to scratchy tinsel being chucked over his face and _All I Want For Christmas Is You_ being bellowed out by five of Will's siblings.

"Uhhh... What's the time..." Nico groaned.

" _THERE'S JUST ONE THING THAT I NEEEEEDDD!"_

Nico threw a pillow in the direction of the sound. There was a muffled squeal as it hit its target.

"Would you all shut up."

" _I DONT CARE ABOUT THE PRESENTS-"_

"Please."

"- _UNDERNETH THE CHRISTMAS TREE!"_

"Why..."

" _I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN-"_

"Will, I require your assistance."

 _"_ _MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW!"_

 _"_ WILL!"

Thus, the beginning of the festive season at Camp Half-Blood.

The Hades cabin had been built but Nico had no intentions of moving in soon. He fell safe in Will's arms at night. He felt like he was being helpful on Will's part as after a week or two, Nico didn't wake up to Will drenched in sweat and writhing in his sleep. Life was really going well. And although most of the camp would have loved to relax, that wasn't possible. Something had to happen. Not idiotic monsters that attacked in the name of 'revenge' or whatever, something worth noticing. But no matter how much Chiron, Nico, Will and Co. And the rest of the camp thought, there was no expected threats. Which made life unbearable with tension.

"Will," Nico said in annoyance, "What are those?" He pointed to the hideous sandals on the other boy's feet.

"Sandals." Will replied happily.

Nico looked at him incredulously. "William Viola Solace, they are a disgrace, take them off now."

Will gave a pout that made Nico's heart flutter and a pink blush brushed his cheeks. "But Death Boy..."

Nico turned away as his face went bright red. "Will, it's -1 degrees, you can't seriously wear those."

Without turning around, Nico knew Will was smirking as he always did when he made Nico turn cherry red. "Whatever." Nico started walking towards the cliffs overlooking the sea. He heard Will chuckle as the blond caught up with him.

"Just because it has been snowing, doesn't mean you wear snow shoes."

"Just because you're as queer as a double rainbow, doesn't mean you can't date girls."

"Touché."

Nico stopped at the top of the cliff. "So why are we here?"

Will had woke him up at half six in the morning, when it was freezing and no one else was awake. After complaining for ten minutes, Nico had about five minutes to get dressed before Will dragged him outside and through the silent camp. They had walked for twenty minutes in comfortable silence while Nico wondered where they were going. Will had held his hand the whole time they walked but Nico didn't know if this meant something or not as Will held his hand daily and it drove Nico crazy as he tried to figure out the son of Apollo's feelings for him. The whole walk had Nico's brain working overtime as he noticed small, tiny things of little importance. Such as that they were walking so close their legs were almost touching, how Will smelt of a mix of antiseptic and lavender, how his hand was warm and soft and how when Nico looked down he could see... Was this romantic, beautiful boy wearing _socks_ _and sandles?_

Nico shook his head, "You are absolutely hopeless you know." He sighed, "I thought there was some hope for you but this, _socks_ and sandals, it's too much."

A soft snort was heard from Will. "I took you here to see something beautiful." He whispered, "So open your eyes and look."

Nico stared at him, confused. "What's beautiful about socks and sandals?"

"The horizon."

Nico frowned and turned his head up, what did the horizon have to do with socks and-

 _Holy Hades_

In front of the two boys was the most beautiful sunrise Nico had ever dreamed of seeing.

He had seen the sun rise over Las Vegas on his first day at the Lotus Casino, he had seen the sun rise over the European mountains and hills when he was on monster look-out for the Argo II, he even had time to see a bit of a sunrise in Pompaii but the sight laid before him blew them all aside... (Although the fact that Will was there may have helped.)

In the centre of the horizon, a bright light was rising, illuminating the ocean bit by bit. His frosty breath evaporated as soon as it was released and the snow around his feet was melting slowly. The watery rays soon turned into a fierce light, falling warm and welcome on Nico's frozen face as he looked upon the now-sparkling aquamarine waves and the sky was the purest blue Nico though Zeus could conjure.

"My socks are getting wet." Will whispered softly

"Well you shouldn't have worn sandals then." Nico whispered back.

A soft snort emitted from the blond.

They stood there for what seemed like hours before the first shrieks and laughs started in camp.

"We should go to back." Nico said suddenly hyper aware that he and Will were practically leaning on one another.

"Yeah... Back." Will whispered before squeezing Nicos hand slightly. A flow of energy went through Nico leaving him feeling like he'd just had the best nightmare-free nap ever.

"Wha-"

Will chuckled and then slowly bent down, picking a couple of snowdrops from the snow whilst Nico just stared, cradling the hand Will just touched as if it was a priceless relic, so fragile that a mere warm wind could ruin it forever. He didn't even think of anything. Over the past few weeks Nico's mind had been working non-stop with all the tension, the holidays, presents, song lyrics (because everyone in camp was astounded that Nico didn't know or want to know any hit Christmas songs and so he now had one lesson-a-week, so now if anybody even hummed Feliz Navidad he would punch them happily.) and Will's mixed signals and his gods-damned _kissable, dorky-_ um, **annoying** and **irritating** was what.. he... ment, yeah, face, Nico was tired just thinking about thinking now. But in this blissful moment, his mind was quiet.

As Will rose in front of him, Nico realised that to anyone else, he had just been staring open mouthed at Will blond mop of hair for 30 seconds.

"You all right?" Will asked cautiously. Nico could see the slight concern on his face. Slight but real.

This happened often, Nico noticed. With anyone else Will would just laugh and say some witty comment but with Nico, if he looked peeky, paler than usual, flushed or discomforted, Will would hide it but, after a month of two watching his face, Nico saw that he was honestly worried that something was wrong. Heck today the boy who wore socks and sandles in the snow would not let Nico out of the Apollo cabin without a scarf. (Of course Nico was fine with that as the scarf was Will's and smelt like heaven.)The whole thing was making Nico sick with worry because around the time Nico noticed, Will's nightmares had started up only a few weeks before.

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." He smiled "What do you have there?"

Will walked forward. "A very beautiful flower for a very beautiful boy." He said grinning innocently ear to ear. "Unfortunately it would be weird to give myself a flower so I guess I'll have to give it to you."

Nico flushed. "You twit, just give the flowers."

"If you want..."

Will leaned in really close until their faces were almost touching. Nico allowed himself to get lost in the blue hue of Will's eyes for a moment, letting himself sink through their waters.

Will's hand that held the flower came up to Nico's face and carefully placed the snowdrop in his hair. Nico could just imagine how that would clash with his almost black hair but decided that it wasn't anything too important. Inevitably though, the flower fell out almost immediately.

Nico looked down. "Oh."

He started to bend down to grab the flower but a warm hand on his cheek stopped him. Nico let himself rise again, with Will's hand holding his face gently. When they were face to face, Will brought his other hand up to cup his other cheek and opened his mouth as if to say something.

"I... I just." Will sighed and suddenly Nico was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.

Will's arms surrounded him and pulled him close, not so Nico felt suffocated but like an angel's wings were protecting him from all the darkness, from everything that had hurt and haunted him, from all the self-hatred, from the world and for once Nico felt _safe._ He felt as if someone (or more specifically Will) would be there through everything. People had always told him people loved him, that he had a place with them, but everyone kept moving, changing and, well, leaving. But Will hadn't left yet. He hadn't changed or moved. He was always there to laugh with, cry with or rant with. And although life may always be a bit of mess for Nico, he was very sure that he loved the boy with golden curls, currently crushing him, head rested in the crook of his neck and blond hair tickling his skin. Nico wrapped his arms around the taller boy and they just stood together, in one-another's arms, with the world seeming to be frozen around them. Seconds seemed like days, minutes seemed like weeks and hours seemed like years and Nico would enjoyed every bit of it.

 _Funny how something as small as a hug could make a person's day worth it_ Nico thought.

After a minute or two, the two broke apart and Will's stomach let out a deep growl.

He blushed a cheery red and grinned sheepishly. "Can we-"

Nico laughed, "Of course."

The two turned around, side by side and started walking back to camp, through the chilly air and gleaming snow with the sun rising slowly behind them.

"So what are you getting everyone for Chirstmas?"

"No fucking clue."

 **The chapter was earlier than the Christmas one but i felt like it was needed. Also, constructive criticism is really needed! What did you guys think would be good for this fic? I am better at direct speech but in my opinion, the story isn't taking time to slow down so some suggestions would be perfect.**

 **See you at Christmas x**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**

 **PS Anyone who has read Mango Cheese and the hammer of Thor message me im so hyped best book, rANT WITH Me M8**


	12. Chapter 12 Christmas !

**So, the Christmas chapter. The one that put this fic on hiatus, the one i am dying to write and dreading. Hopefully, this will be good.**

 _"_ _Can I have butterscotch Cucciolo?" Nico said, looking up at Bianca._

 _She was wearing the same clothes that she'd been wearing the day Percy saved them from all those years ago. Nico was also wearing the same clothes he was wearing that life changing day and appeared to be the same age as he was back then._

 _"_ _Of course Gattino." She looked down at him with a sunny smile._

 _They were standing outside a gelato store from the 1940's. There was a katobleps standing next to them eating denim pants but that made sense in a weird way and the street was a strange shade of purple._

 _"_ _Two strawberry ice creams please." Said a voice coming from next to the siblings. Standing there was Hazel in a jumpsuit made out of sparkling gems varying from ruby to amethyst. Nico frowned. He wanted butterscotch._

 _"_ _Here you go." said the ice cream lady who had a beard going all the way past her knees. She stretched over the counter and gave them two lemon sorbets. Nico scowled. He was ok with strawberry but lemon sorbet just was pushing it too much. He was about to protest but before he could he looked down to see that his ice cream had melted all over his hand._

 _"_ _Hey Bia-" He stopped to realise that Bianca was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Hazel. "Cucciolo! Hazel!" He shouted. "Cucc-"_

 _"_ _Nico!"_

 _Nico spun round to see Will sanding a few meters away. Will's eyes sparkled in the Italian sun and he seemed to be glowing like a true angel. He eyes widened and he was running towards the blond boy with open arms. Because he was still a ten year old, Will was a good two heads taller than him but Nico threw himself into his embrace anyway._

 _Will hugged him tightly. "We'll get that butterscotch ice cream, yeah?" He said._

 _Nico nodded._

 _"_ _But the list is up you know."_

 _What?_

"THE LIST'S UP GUYS! COME ON!"

 _Wha..._

Nico sat up groggily and squinted and the direction the voice was coming from and decided very quickly that where ever the place the voice was coming from, it was far too bright and cold for Nico to venture to. Yup, he rather snuggle back into Will, fall sleep again and get his fucking butterscotch ice cream.

He turned around ready to put his head in the other boy's chest and carry on with his lovely sunny dream with all his favourite people-safely inside his bed.

While remembering Bianca was still quite sore to Nico, he saw her regularly in his dreams as they replayed all his best memories of her, even if they were tinted with strange details. It made him happy remembering their nicknames for each other and their ice cream choices. He loved thinking about the Italian sun and sight of all the colourful ice cream. Although he didn't have many memories of Italy because he left a young age, he always remembered passing the gelato stand and gazing at all the colours and flavours before his sister or mother tugged him along. Compared to nowhere days, there wasn't many flavours back then but to a three year old Nico, he couldn't imagine that there was finer ice cream anywhere else.

Will was starting to appear in his dreams more and more often now too. Nico wasn't complaining at all, he very much welcomed the blond's face and smile, awake or asleep. He also welcomed Will's chest when he was cold because someone had rudely woke him up.

And so, he turned around, to go to sleep again. Cue the music, close the curtains, show's ove-

Nico frowned. There seemed to be a problem. There was no Will.

He groaned into the pillow (while simultaneously inhaling Will's heavenly scent of lavender and antiseptic- which surprisingly went well together) and dramatically spread himself over the entire bed like an Italian starfish.

" _Betrayal_." He whispered softly before he hauled himself up into a sitting position and half-heartedly rubbed his eyes before looking round the almost empty Apollo cabin. Most of the inhabitants had left already, although they had obviously been in a rush if the rumpled duvets and creased clothes strewn everywhere were anything to go by. The List, whatever it was, couldn't be that important.

Oh well. He would just have to venture into the cold, harsh outside because his personal hot water bottle abandoned him. Hmph.

He stood up and stretched a long stretch while yawning. _I need new pyjamas,_ He thought. Right now he was just wearing a large black t-shirt that was far too big for him and some cotton shorts with little socks to keep his feet warm. He never got too cold because he was supposed to have a Will Solace warming him up but today he was freezing.

"You'd better get changed. If Will sees you like that, he'd probably have a nosebleed." A voice mumbled to his left that made Nico jump. He knew the cabin wasn't empty, he didn't think anyone was awake!

A snort came for his left. "True." Another voice mumbled. Nico was suddenly very awake and made a break for the bathroom, ignoring the sleepy chuckles following him.

10 minutes later Nico was walking across the green towards Will, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Jason. To his surprise, Hazel, Frank and Reyna were standing right next to them, all wearing purple jumpers with a holly writhe and the letters SPQR inside it. Nico snorted, he didn't know Camp Jupiter did Christmas. He could just imagine the Roman army going into battle with little red hats on their heads and Reyna dressed as Father Christmas.

Better not say that out loud.

"That took you a while Nico." Percy said, grinning. "Will said you were dead to the world when he left you."

"Well I was until someone came in screaming about some list." Nico scowled. "It was cold." He gave a glare at Will, pointedly ignoring the huge grins spreading on Jason and Percy's face.

"Well I'm sorry for leaving you, you should wear more pyjamas to heat yourself up." Will responded with a wry grin.

Again, ignoring Jason and Percy. Oh and Piper and Annabeth.

"How am _I_ supposed to heat myself up? I am literally darkness." Nico shot back, crossing his arms.

Frank bit his lip and Hazel seemed to be fighting with her lip muscles.

"You could heat you're self up if you tried, you just love me too much so you won't leave me." Will said.

For fuck's sake, even Reyna looked amused.

"Vorrei, pero sei troppo carino, bastardo." Nico grumbled.

Will laughed. "I have _no_ idea what you just said but I am more than sure I am supposed to be offended."

Bastard indeed, even his laugh sent little shivers down Nico's spine.

Jason opened his mouth with a giant grin on his face but before he could say anything, Lou Ellen and Cecil ran up whooping and shouting.

"We did it! We made it on the list and we're on for three days forthcoming!" Cecil screamed.

Suddenly chaos erupted. Cecil and Lou Ellen were hoisted on someone's shoulders and everyone around Nico was high fiving and being ridiculously happy. Annabeth, Piper and Hazel were doing some kind of _Olympus' Shit I'm so happy right now_ dance and Reyna looked the most happy Nico had seen her in a while. The other four boys were busy parading the Heroes of the List around on their shoulders and Nico just, well, stood there. It's pretty hard to celebrate when you don't know what you're supposed celebrating.

He made his way over to Reyna, who seemed to be the only sane person at that present moment.

"Ok, I give up. What is this holy list." Nico said to her.

She grinned at him. "I have been told that once a year, at Christmas time, the camp give the appropriate protections and permission to let groups of campers go into New York and shop for the holidays. So today, the list went up and, of course, Camp Half-Blood went mad. Before 7 in the morning all the good spots are taken."

"Good spots?" Nico had never really been shopping in December.

"Apparently, shops get their sales on now but haven't run out of stock. So it's perfect. Or so Piper told me." Reyna said and frowned a bit. It dawned on Nico than, like himself, Reyna had never been Christmas shopping before and this was quite new to her. That made two of them

He turned to look at the chaos that hadn't lessened in the past few minutes. "Good luck to us."

He heard a soft snort next to him and he realised he was really glad he had Reyna next to him at that moment despite the Christmas jumper. He enjoyed just going through life with her, not sure what will happen next but knowing that together they could face anything, any fight, any dilemma and any busy, manic, crazed Christmas shoppers. Now what to buy her... What to buy anyone really. He had some thinking to do but he could do it. He focused on Will's smiling face and his free laugh, so different to the nightmares the boy had every night. He would make Will's present extra special he decided.

Christmas had begun.

"Nico."

"What?

"...I got you something."

"Will what is it, I-" _Gasp._

"Come here Nico..."

" _No."_

"I have something else too..."

"You didn't!"

"I did."

"You're crazy. Crazy!"

"Nico, this is not negotiable."

" _Never."_

"Nico..."

...

"Put them on Nico."

 _Hiss._

"Are you going to get me annoyed Nico?"

"You'll never see me in them alive."

"I think not..."

"Will, what, Will! No don't you dare-!"

 _Thud._

"Tada!"

Nico staggered up off the floor with the help of a soft hand belonging to a beautiful, blond boy. Well, he said beautiful but right now it was more annoying and irritating.

Today was the day of the Christmas shopping and everyone in their group had gone a bit nuts. It was like the camp was like prison and this was their first taste of freedom, well, you know, if prison came with amazing meals, life saving skills and lovely beds. Although the toilets were pretty prison like. Hmm.

Anyway, they had all agreed (note: _begrudgingly_ agreed) to wear stupid Christmas sweaters. ("Come on Nico, you could have a skull with a red nose on the front of your sweater!" "Shut it Grace.") So while Will had being going around in an obnoxiously bright, yellow turtleneck woollen sweater with a green Christmas tree in the middle of it with golden suns that lit up and flashed when ever Will smiled, Nico had a black woollen sweater with five rows of white skulls on the front of it and X's all the way down the sleeves. Will wanted him to wear a black sweater with cats of the front of it with the words "Miaow" and "Purrr" of the front but Nico drew the line there. But Will had looked really suspicious when they had brought the sweaters. And now Nico knew why. The bastard had gone and purchased it himself and, yes, you guessed it, that was what Nico was wearing now.

The cheeky bugger had also bought a pair of reindeer antlers with jingle bells on them. Oh, and it seemed that Lou Ellen had put something on them so they stuck to his head and he couldn't remove them. Shit.

Before he could get Will, the boy had sprinted out the door like whippets were nipping at his heels yelling, "We'll be late, come on Nico!"

"I'll be the death of you Solace!" And Nico ran after him.

Once they were both at the mini-van that was taking the group to the city, Nico was more than pissed.

"Will I swear I will kill you..."

Will rolled his eyes. "Oh Nico, stop being an over dramatic goose and get in."

Still grumbling, Nico climbed into the van and the door was closed behind him. He walked down the aisle in the van looking for a spare seat. On the first row sat Percy next to Grover who Nico was a bit surprised to see as Grover had been quite busy recently. Across from them sat Jason and Frank and behind them sat Annabeth and Piper who appeared to be talking about whether waffles or pancakes were better for breakfast. Opposite them were Lou Ellen and Cecil who seemed to be counting their money up for the day ("Did you steal this Cecil." "Never! No. Maybe. Only some, STOP LOOKING LIKE THAT LOU!") Finally in the back row sat Hazel and Reyna sitting behind Annabeth and Piper and across from them sat Will with an empty seat next to him.

Will smiled and patted the seat next to him. Despite the fact that Nico was dressed in a cat jumper with reindeer antlers on his head and it was basically all Will's fault, Nico's heart always melted a little at the blonde's smile and also he looked just plain adorable with the little golden suns lighting up on his jumper.

"Come sit."

"I shall, I think."

Nico sat down next to Will and was very aware that blonde hair was tickling his ear and he could almost feel Will's little breath on his cheek. Sitting next to Will on the mini-bus then was like sitting in a little bubble of warmth and safety. He felt like that a lot with Will. Safe.

The heat radiating from the solace next to Nico was soothing despite the cold weather outside and no matter what Will did, Nico could never stay angry at him. Will would always do something ridiculously stupid or say some silly joke and suddenly he glowed a little brighter than before. What Nico didn't understand though was the fact that at night, when he was asleep, Will's death-aura (or whatever you wanted to call it) always rose. He seemed to think, or maybe even be, in danger all night. Sometimes it was so strong it disturbed Nico in his dreams. No matter what the dream, he would wake up knowing that it had been a hard night for the boy next to him and Will would be extra happy all morning, just to cover it up. Last night had been one of those nights and Nico was really beginning to worry a lot. At first he just thought it was PTSD but he had asked a few other medics on camp about it and from what they all said, Will should've be getting better, not worse.

"What's wrong Death Boy? You look really serious."

"No, I'm fine, don't... Don't worry, ok?"Nico said. Looking down at their knees he just wanted to hug the boy. He always thought of people making _him_ feel safe and sound and warm. Something he'd been longing for since Bianca had died. But he had never really thought that anyone could derive joy and comfort from himself but right now all Nico wanted to do was hold Will, and never let go.

Suddenly the van gave a lurch forward and Nico could feel them going forward. A cheer went up from everyone as the Half-Blood Valley starts going by in a blur and then they were going onwards to the city.

"Let's have a song!" Percy yelled.

"Something Chritsmassy!" Piper replied with.

Jason cleared his throat.

" _Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?_

 _In a lane, snow is glistening,_

 _A beautiful night, we're happy tonight..."_

 _"_ _WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND!"_ Everyone finished off.

Next to him, Will yawned.

"Will are you-"

"I'm fine. Just tired." Will cut him off but Nico was having none of it.

"No, Will, you seriously worrying me now, this is not healthy."

"That's ironic." Will snorted sleepily, "My patient worrying about their doctor. But seriously Neeks, I'm fine, I just want to..." Will's eyes were closing slowly and a few seconds later, he was snoring with his head laying on Nico's shoulder. Nico could feel a blush rising but thanks to the singing, no one noticed except from Reyna who gave Nico a knowing look before turning back to the rest of the group. Nico looked at the boy next to him and took his hand, sadness in his heart to see the boy he loved going though so much pain. He'd better say awake, no matter how tired he was, to make sure Will didn't have nightmares. But the temptation was so... tempting. To just lean on Will and go to... sleep... Yeah...

" _To face unafraid,_

 _The plans that we've made,_

 _Walking in a winter wonderland..."_

( **A/N Guys, this will go straight on to the Christmas part, I'm sorry if you were getting excited for them going around New York and stuff but this fic stresses me a bit** ***a lot*** **and so it would be easier to go onto the Chrismas bit. If you want, after I finish this fic I could maybe write the New York part afterwards if I get enough requests. Sorry guys!)**

 _T'was the morrow of Christmas,_

 _And all through the camp,_

 _Not a light could be seen,_

 _Not one lit lamp._

 _Small stocking were hung by each bed with care,_

 _In hope someone special had left something there._

 _The campers were nestled, all snug in their beds._

 _And the Ares cabin dreamt of cutting off heads._

 _So Will Solace in yellow,_

 _And Nico in black,_

 _Were about to be woken from a long winters nap..._

Nico opened his eyes slowly, trying to look at as much as possible without having to move his body. It felt special today... Something nice was going to happen but what? He could probably think much clearer when he was properly awake, but right now all Nico wanted to do was go back to sleep in the warmth of Will's bed and decree a law stating he never had to get out of bed before eleven A.M. Also, the sleigh bells in the background didn't really help his thought process at all...

Wait.

 _Sleigh bells?_

"Whillg." Murmured Nico, muffled by Will's shoulder. "Whg-mrfh." He breathed in for air, releasing his face and started again. "Why is there sleigh bells ringing."

"Hold on..." Will muttered back.

Nico frowned. What was going on?

Suddenly strings came to join with the bells.

"Oh, naturally there's a bunch of violins as well." Nico said thinking his morning couldn't get any weirder.

"Christmas Quartet, _actually."_ Will said.

"It's two violins, a viola and a cello." Someone else muttered.

"It happens every year." Said a voice from a different bed.

"Are you kidding?" Someone that sounded like Austin said. "We had jingle bells last year!"

"Austin, with all that has gone on, do you think Dad really had the time to create another Christmas playlist?" Said Kayla. "He's probably got the same decor too."

"Decor...?" Nico muttered and finally decided to heave himself up.

Oh shit.

Yesterday the Apollo cabin had been just the same as any non-festive day. There were eight beds all lined up with all kinds of different things lying around them. Four of the beds always had some kind of sheet music on them and it usually wasn't even moved when the campers slept. The magic of the cabin kept the paper from crumpling. Two of the beds (one being Will's) had two dozen spare plasters and bandages lying on them, in them and around them and if you wanted any paracetamol or ibuprofen there was a 99% chance that there was some in a metre radius of these beds. The other two beds where just always covered in books. One bed (Leah's bed) had stacks of books on poetry and Van Gogh piled up next to the bed and they were constantly being knocked over much to Leah's annoyance. The other bed was Kayla's and sometimes, no matter how much Nico liked Kayla, he couldn't help but be slightly worried at how maybe books on "How To Use Plague And Illness To Your Strength" there were lying around her bed. But hey, sometimes Nico woke up to her using the plasters around Will's bed as target practice with her bow and arrow so the books weren't the strangest thing about Kayla.

At the end of the cabin there was a large space that was used as a general storage space that tended to be called, you guessed, The Space. On the walls were lines of different arrows, different bows, three shelves of music, about seven music cases with seven different instruments and eight music stands pushed to the side. It's was where everyone put all their items that could be freely shared and used. Not today.

All the instruments, all the bows, all the books, they were all gone. The beds and floor had all been cleaned up and the only thing that decorated the beds were little stockings, filled to the brim. In the gap at the end of the room, there was a ginormous Christmas tree, decorated quite traditionally. All the lights were a soft yellow, giving a homely glow to the room and on the very top, there was an orange sun, gleaming like a halo. On the bottom of the tree, miniature bows were pulling arrows back and shooting them to the next bow and they continued like that, round and round the tree. The next row up was clarinets, the next was a flute and to finish the instruments was a piccolo. The last row was clear diamonds twinkling and giving off small rays of light that turned into rainbows when they hit a surface and altogether the tree was one of the beautiful things Nico had ever seen.

When Nico looked up the ceiling made it seem as if there was no roof and it was snowing but Kayla told him that it was only an illusion.

Obviously, this was very different from last night.

A sudden squeal was heard from Austin's bed, sending Nico five feet in the air.

"I got a new score book!" Austin was holding an empty score book in one hand and the little stocking in the other. "YES!"

"You have tons of empty score in the pile in The Space, why is that special?" Nico asked.

Austin rolled his eyes as if was so obvious. "Because, oh-so-not-musical-one, it's MY score. If I write on the shared score, I can't really keep it to myself, can I? You have this... sense of 'You have to share the stuff in the shared space or I'm telling Dad' when you use something from The Space." Nico may have imaged it but Austin seemed to be glaring at Max, the cellist of the cabin. "So if I just left it there, anyone can take my music and write it out for another instrument, like, I don't know, a cello!" Yup, Austin was defiantly glaring. "But now, I can write my own music and no one can take it and I can upload it to YouTube in peace."

"Well I got a new conducting baton so you can go suck it!" Max shot back.

"Woah, ok guys, chill." Will said, suddenly much more awake. "I'm sure your presents are both wonderful and you both equally love them but I can't play any instrument for shit so, you know, you're both making me feel significantly less intelligent. Any, what did I get..." Suddenly Will turned cherry red and shut the top of his stocking fast. Nico noticed Kayla and Leah were both smirking at the both of them. Nico was confused.

"What did you get Will?" Nico asked with a frown.

"Yes, Will, what did Apollo get you..." Purred Leah.

"Nothing!" Squeaked Will, ten octaves higher than his normal voice.

Kayla looked like the Cheshire cat at this point. "No, really William, what did Dad give you, you know him being the most bisexu-"

"NICO!" Will practically yelled, "You have a stocking, look, at the end of the bed! What, what is in it. Open it. Now. Doctors orders."

"Ok..." Nico opened his little red stocking to just find a piece of paper. He took it out. "'Go to your own cabin.' Strange present." He shrugged. "Shall we?" He asked Will who looked like he was about to explode.

"Yes. 100%. But first, let's get changed." Will seemed very anxious to get out and ten minutes later, they were both dressed and really to go, Will pushing Nico out the door, covering his ears from Kayla and Leah's cackling laughter.

Nico slowly opened the dark, heavy door to the Hades cabin. Nico hadn't been in the cabin for weeks, in fact, he'd barely seen it at all since it had been refurbished. He peeked in and after he had a first glimpse of the inside, he flung open the door.

Inside, all the beds had been cleared away and the only thing in the room was a tree, not dissimilar to the tree in the Apollo cabin except this tree was completely black. Unlike what Nico expected, which was little skulls, there was lots of sparkling gems and moons. White lights gleamed, contrasting with the dark branches and on the very top there was a star, covered in silver diamonds. The shutters were pulled over the windows on the ceiling so that the tree was the only light in the room. At the bottom of the tree were piles and piles of presents, all in elegant, black wrapping and silver ribbons tied them all up neatly.

Wow... All this... Did his dad do this?

"Who does this?" Nico whispered.

"The gods." Will replied. "The year you came to camp, the gods were getting slightly worried about the amount of people going to... Kronos' side." He swallowed. "So they thought that showing the camper that they knew their kids by giving all of their kids presents that they knew people wanted and it stuck. But no one ever really looked in this cabin. It always had its curtains closed."

They stood there in peace for a minute before the door behind them opened slowly and inside came Hazel and Frank.

"Hey Nico." Hazel whispered. "Hiya Will." She waved a little.

Frank just stood there looking in awe at the tree. "It's a little different to the Ares cabin." He muttered. Will snorted.

A few minutes passed as they all gazed at the tree.

"Are... Are those presents for us?" Hazel said.

"I think so." Nico responded with.

"Well let's see shall we?"

They walked up to the tree and Nico saw a letter on one of the branches. He picked it up and opened it.

"What is it?" Hazel asked.

"I think it's from Dad... Should I read it?" After a few nods he opened it.

" _Dear Nico and Hazel._

 _Merry Christmas, children. I am sorry for not seeing you on this day mortals celebrate so extensively but I hope you can forgive me._

 _But first things first: Your presents._

 _I've never had a task such as this one, getting presents for my loved ones. Persphone is different, I have known her for a millennia, but you two precious mortals are different. You lives pass so quickly in my eyes and so in the few Christmas' I have with you, I hope I am a relief and not so much of a burden._

 _Half of the presents under the tree are for Hazel and half for Nico minus two gifts. You will know which ones they are when you see them. Open them last._

 _Hazel._

 _When you were first born, I was Pluto, god of riches and I fell for your mother when she summoned me. She was so beautiful and radiant and watching you grow up, I honestly felt grief, knowing how I cursed the two of you. I don't want your forgiveness for all I did, I just want you to know that I am proud to call you my daughter and I am glad that Nico brought you back when he did. I am not good at these sentimental letters, I am sorry about that but I just ask that you never stop surprising me with your talents and take care of yourself. I have lost you once without out appreciating you. Now I see you properly, I couldn't bear to see you before the judges in the underworld again._

 _Nico,_

 _I apologise for everything. I see you now as the son you always were, before I was just too blind to see clearly. Bianca is safe, Hermes checked for me and she was born into a good family worthy of her but I shall never compare you to her again. She has gone and in her place is a strong boy who I am proud to call my son. I hope Jules Albert is doing alright and is driving just as well as he used to. He came in handy with me when he was under my control and I hope he is the same to you._

 _But Nico, you are my son and I have no hesitation in saying that you are the best son I have had. Never stop –as the mortals say- kicking arse. I will always be proud of you. Unless you come home with Jackson or Grace as your partner. However I will tolerate Solace despite his obnoxious father._

 _I hope to see the two of you soon, alive though, not dead, and I look forward to seeing you grow up._

 _Hades/Pluto/Father/Dad."_

"You know, as much as I can hate the guy sometimes, I genuinely think Dad put time and love into that letter." Hazel said.

"Yeah. Don't mention it too much on our next meeting, this is probably the first time he's done anything like this and won't know how to react." Nico snorted but inside, he was glowing. While his father had never really been a sold pillar in his life it made him feel good knowing his father cared anyway.

Even if his father had basically just said to date Will.

"I don't want to be that materialistic person that doesn't care about touching letters, but are you going to open your presents or..." Will trailed off.

"Yeah, that what I'm thinking." Frank said bashfully.

Hazel laughed and just kissed Frank on the forehead. "Ok guys. Shall we do the honours Nico?"

"Yes we shall Hazel."

Seconds later wrapping paper covered the floor as the two made their way through each gift with the help of Frank and Will, occasionally squealing and shouting with joy.

Finally after what seemed like thousands of gifts (it was 50, 25 each) they got down to the last two gifts, the ones that were specifically for the end.

"On three." Nico said. Hazel nodded.

"One, two, _three."_

 _Gasp._

Inside a box was one small picture, framed in gold and it was the best gift out of the lot.

"Are you ok?" He heard Will ask behind him. Nico just nodded dumbly and lifted the picture out of the box carefully. Staring back out at him was four people. His mother, his father, his sister and himself. His mum was smiling a full, genuine smile with one arm holding a three year old Bianca looking vaguely at the camera and using the other arm to hold Nico who seemed to be very interested in the concept of a hand and was staring intently at his right one. His father stood regally next them, his hand on his mother's shoulder in a formal way but his face was smiling slightly and Nico could tell he was happy.

A tear slipped down Nico's cheek and he felt Will hug him from behind.

"They both loved you Nico." Will whispered. Nico nodded and leaned back into his embrace, letting the hot tears cascade down his face. He was over their deaths, he wasn't haunted by them but _gods,_ he missed them _so much._ Just to see their faces together happy as a family made him sob harder. He turned round in Will's arms and cried into his shirt clutching the photo.

"I just _miss them._ " Nico whispered.

"I know Neeks. But you've got us now."

"Yes but..." He let out a sob.

"Hey, it's ok... Shushh..." Will hugged him tighter. After a minute Nico calmed down and released himself from his Will Cocoon and turned around to see Hazel in Frank's arms, tears running down her cheeks, holding a picture frame similar to his.

"My mum..." She whispered. Nico just nodded and took Will's hand. He walked over to Hazel with Will and smiled.

"Look at us." He chuckled. "We make a right pair." He lifted his hand and wiped away her tears. "Let's wipe them away shall we?" Hazel giggled and then slapped a hand over her mouth.

Nico grinned. "That's better. Come on. Let's see the others."

The four of them opened the door to the cabin and Will and Nico walked out first.

"Er, guys?" Hazel said, a feral grin plastered over her face. She pointed upwards.

Hanging above them was a piece of mistletoe.

Oh.

Nico looked at Will.

Will looked at Nico.

And Nico leaned in.

And Will leaned in.

And their lips touched.

And it was _magical._

Nico wanted to kiss and kiss and kiss but he had to stop. What if Will didn't like him?

So they pulled apart with a blush dusting their faces.

"OH MY GODS!" Someone who sounded like Jason yelled.

Nico and Will turned around to see all their friends looking at them. Turns out it was Jason's voice.

"Just bloody _kiss_ you idiots!" Percy shouted.

"I swear if Will mentions Nico's name in any love sick sentence again I will go die." Cecil said with a practically murderous look.

"If you two don't kiss or something I will use charmspeak!" Piper threatened. "And we know you both want it so it _will_ work."

Suddenly the whole group erupted in calls of "Oh my gods, you're so oblivious.", "Just kiss." And "Ugh, it's so obvious!"

Nico wasn't quite sure what to do. To give in or... Well _\- whumph_!

Will had his face in his hand and he smashed their lips together. Nico was very ok with this.

Will softened his hand and moved one onto Nico's cheek and one on his hip while Nico wrapped his arms round his neck. After a moment their lips started to move together and soon they were in a beautiful rhythm of breathing, then kissing, then a tease of tongue. At one point one of them moaned and Nico almost lost his mind.

After a minute or two they broke apart, panting.

"Please," Will said, "I'm so sick of fighting this, please just date me."

Nico laughed, he felt high on helium. "Of course, yes, yes. Yes. Date me. I don't know what I'm saying, sorry."

Will laughed. "Thank you."

Their friends cheered in the background and Hazel came up next to them, popping their little bubble.

"Let's go to the Poseidon cabin for present, yeah?" She said gently. They nodded.

As they walked down the steps, Hazel whispered to Nico, "Well done Nico."

Nico smiled so hard he thought he would explode.

The Poseidon cabin was ready and festive by the time they got there.

"Wow... This is so nice! Did you do this Percy?" Grover asked.

Percy laughed. "No, Dad did it last night I think. All the other cabins are like this aren't they?"

After a few nods Grover blushed. "Sorry, I don't really look at the cabins..."

"Hey, it's fine. Let's just celebrate now." Percy patted him on the back.

"Yeah!" Lou Ellen cried out, "Present time, woo!"

And just like that everyone got excited as if someone had flicked a switch.

They all sat in a circle on the floor with their presents piled in the middle, in front of the blue Christmas tree with water spouting out the top. All the couples were sitting in each other's laps looking stupidly lovesick. Hazel in Frank's lap holding hands, Piper was in Jason's lap, poking his scar that he got when he tried to eat a stapler, Percy sat in Annabeth's lap looking into her eyes while she played with his hair and finally Nico looked at Will and shrugged, looking around.

"Stop being all cold, you know you love me." Will said.

"Shut up Solace, I don't do all this fluffy, dating stuff." Nico said with a scowl but sat in Will's lap anyway crossing his arms when Will wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Oh come on, you fell asleep on me on the mini-van, don't tell me you don't do the 'fluffy, dating stuff'."

Nico blushed tomato red and looked down. "You fell asleep first. And it was only because you won't see help for your night-"

"Hey, it's Christmas, let's not mention my... problem," Will hesitated a bit. "Listen Nico, I appreciate your concern but you can't do anything, no one can. That's why I hide it. I'm a doctor, I know I have a problem, but I also know that there is only one person that can sort this out and he's... dead." Will whispered the last part. "So if we could just-"

"Ok Will I get it. Don't worry, you don't have to talk about it. It's Christmas as you said, let's just have a good time." Nico said. When Will stayed quiet, Nico realised what he was doing. "William Solace, it is Christmas and as your newly appointed boyfriend I forbid you to feel guilty or do anything but enjoy yourself ok? Smile, you're wearing your stupid Christmas jumper that lights up when you smile so light it up." Nico said. Will just laughed and then buried his head into Nico's back.

Nico turned back to the group who were distracted, trying to find their presents to put in the pile, but Lou Ellen, Cecil and Reyna were staring at him intently. Cecil mouthed, ' _Is Will ok?'_. Nico just nodded and proceeded to rub circles on Will hands in what he hoped to be a relaxing manner. He would help Will someday and when he said help, he meant completely fix. There would be no more nightmares, no more sadness and Will would be happy. Well and truly happy.

Finally people started to calm down and the present pile had reached its great climax. Nico felt Will lift his head and knew that he would be wearing a perfect smile, shielding himself from anyone who asked any questions.

"Can we give out the presents now?" Asked Frank who was looking at Hazel and then around the rest of the group.

Hazel was lucky to have Frank Nico thought. Frank was just a fluffy panda when it came down to the truth and he cared about Hazel so deeply. In fact everyone was lucky to have their other half. The room was just so full happiness at the moment, Nico wasn't sure whether to smile and join in or get the nearest bucket and throw up.

"But first," Will said from behind him, "Let's put some music on in the background, yeah?"

A cheer went up from everyone and Piper jumped up to put a CD on.

Soon Mariah Carey was singing out of the speakers and the gifts were being passed around. Everyone was crying out in joy as paper was ripped and beautiful presents were revealed.

It was soon obvious why Frank had been so eager to share his gift. She opened a box to lift up a beautiful necklace, a key covered in pink gemstones. Hazel turned it around and saw that the back was made of silver with the words _'_ _Hazel, I trust you with my key.'_ inscribed on the back.

 **"** Aww, Frank, that's adorable!" Hazel exclaimed.

"The gem stones are all real kunzites which are the gems of romance and signifies eternal love." Everyone around them awwwwed and Nico was so ready to grab the nearest bin but then Frank added, "Say the last part."

Hazel frowned. "I trust you with my key? WHOA!" Suddenly she was holding a sword the length of her arm and the hilt was decorated with the kunzites. "How did you do this? How much did it cost you!"

Frank tapped the side of his nose. "Being a child of Mars has its merits. And the price is only my business." Hazel just hugged him.

"How do I get it back into a necklace?"

"Say, _'_ _And I trust you too'_."

The deadly weapon turned back into a sweet necklace again and Hazel looked enchanted.

Nico was reaching for Will's present from himself when Will tapped him on the back and handed him a thin book-looking gift wrapped up.

"Oh, thank you. Here's your gift too." Nico said giving him a package.

He then tore open his present to be greeted with a score. A music score. From the boy who couldn't play music. Nico bit his lip and looked back at Will who was looking at him like a child looking at their mother for approval.

"Will..." Nico looked back at the score. It had a key signature and a time signature that matched the notes and lyrics and a piano part with a guitar as well. Nico read the words for about five bars before turning back to Will. "Did you write this yourself?"

Will nodded, his eyes wide with pride.

"Will I... I love it. Does it all fit? You know, does the music all go together?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Will this is amazing." Nico whispered. "I'm so proud and so touched..." And there wasn't one part of that sentence that wasn't true. Nico honestly hadn't felt this proud of someone since Hazel first controlled the Mist.

"I also convinced my sister from Camp Jupiter to come down here and give you piano lessons. I've seen you looking at the grand piano in the cabin and I thought you appreciate it and also you'd be able to play the piece I wrote..." He trailed off with a blush on his face.

"I love it all. Yes, I was looking at the piano and... oh my gods... Will." Nico couldn't help it. He was sitting in the lap of the most gorgeous, adorable, amazing boy in the whole wide world so he just kissed him. A short but sweet kiss but Nico wasn't done. He kissed him again, still short, and again and again. And then he kissed him for a good few seconds. And then he turned around completely and straddled him before kissing him again for ten seconds. He wrapped his hands around Will's neck and then kissed him until he ran out of breath. His mouth started to move and a pair of arms wrapped round his waist. He didn't quicken the pace at all, he just kissed Will in an almost lazy manner.

He didn't know how long they kissed but when Will slid his tongue into Nico's mouth, someone said,

"Guys come on, _get a room!"_

They broke apart and just looked at each other, not even caring that everyone in the room was staring at them.

"Did you really enjoy the music that much?" Will said with a grin.

"Honestly and truthfully, I loved the music and it means so much to me. I will play it with you beside me and the picture of my family on a grand piano when we're middle-aged and have our existential crises' trailing after us. But really, I just wanted to kiss you."

Will smiled. "I enjoyed it."

"Good. Now open my gift."

Inside a box was a pile of bones. Even without seeing them, Nico could fell everyone else's confused looks. To them it was a pile of bones. But in reality...

"Hold them and say 'Kitty Kitty.'"

Will took them in his hand and repeated the words. The bones started to move by themselves and Will dropped them in surprise. Within a few seconds a small kitten made of bones was nudging Will's leg for attention.

"Small Bob..." Percy whispered behind him. Nico turned around and nodded.

"When you told me about Bob's new friend, it stuck in the back of my mind and gave me inspiration for this." He turned back to Will. "You can give code names to the bones to turn into curtain animals or things. But they can only be small. Sorry."

"I love it Nico." Will said, stroking the cat before looking at Nico in the eye. "I love it. And it may be too early to say this but... I think I love you."

Nico couldn't help but grin ear to ear, so much that his face hurt. He leaned in and...

"Oh please don't kiss again. I love a healthy relationship but it just makes the rest of us uncomfortable."

"Oh shut up Lou, it's young love!" Cecil argued.

Nico and Will just chuckled and Will pecked Nico on the lips before popping his head up.

"I love this song!"

"What is it?" Nico asked, he didn't really recognise many song even after his hellish lessons with Will's cabin mates.

"OoH! This is Fairytale of New York!" Annabeth exclaimed. "My dad used to play this a lot!"

Will lifted Nico up bridal style before chucking him onto a bed.

Percy stood up too and put and arm round Will's shoulders before the song started.

" _It was Christmas_ _Eve babe,"_ They started in a ridiculously low voice and Nico was already giggling.

 _"_ _In the drunk tank,_

 _An old man said to me, won't see another one,_

 _And then he sang a song,_

 _The Rare Old Mountain Dew,_

 _I turned my face away,_

 _And dreamed about you..."_

Five hours later they were all lying in the bunks, the room lit up only by the Christmas tree. The music was still playing in the background and Nico was very happy, snuggled up to Will, wrapped in blankets.

"Merry Christmas guys." Percy said softly.

"New Years next." Grover snorted.

"Pass the marshmallows." Cecil said.

A rustling was heard and a great _oof_ came from Cecil.

"Thanks Reyna." He grumbled.

A thumbs up came from another bed.

"To a great Christmas!" Piper lifted her glass up.

"And to no hangover tomorrow!" Will said, lifting his glass.

Many ' _Hear, hear_!'s was heard after that statement.

"And to new love." Will whispered to Nico.

"Mhuph..." Nico nodded as Will softly kissed him.

He leant back into Will's embrace. "Was it a special Christmas for you?"

Will chuckled and put his head into Nico's neck. "Yes. It was by far the best and most special Christmas I have ever had."

"Good..." Nico almost nodded off but managed to stay awake.

"Go to sleep Nico." He kissed Nico neck and wrapped the blanket tighter around him.

"If I must..." Nico let his head fall back into Will's chest and closed his eyes.

Before he fell asleep he heard one more whisper.

" _I'm so lucky to have you Nico..."_

And a smile graced his face as well as a little tear.

 **FINALLY!**

 **7,800 words later and I've finished the chapter while humming Fairytale of New York (fav Christmas song ever, seriously, so good.)**

 **I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and please review! I worked so hard on this chapter all for you guys!**

 **Also, can anyone guess what Apollo put in Will's stocking ;)**

 **I don't speak Italian so anyone who does please correct me and I do play multiple instruments so i know what I'm saying there but otherwise, I think I'm fine.**

 **Love you all lots,**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**


	13. Chapter 13 New Year

**New Year guys! What kind of bullshit resolutions are you going to make today? Whatever they are, have fun with the disappointment knowing you probably won't keep to them! But to help that disappointment here's a chapter of solangelo to help you ;)**

It was New Years Eve at Camp Half-blood and Nico was very content. The time was just gone two in the afternoon and a slight mist had settled over the valley. Nico was in a black sweater and skinny jeans with warm, fluffy pink socks on (they weren't his choice, he just authorised them, don't listen to what Will said.) while Will was in a grey turtle neck and mustard coloured jeans which went surprising well together and the two of them were just relaxing on a bench on the porch of Cabin 6, watching the day past by them. Will was sitting up and Nico was lying on top over Will with a blanket coving him while Will painted his nails black and a radio was on quietly next to them.

Nico was watching his boyfriend- gods it felt nice to say that- hypnotically brushing the nail varnish over his nails while enjoying the warmth of Will as his head was all snug in the crook of the blonde's neck.

"Why are you going this again?" He mumbled before placing a soft kiss onto Will's warm skin.

"Because you'd look nice with these nails," He dipped the brush into the little pot next to the two of them, "and if you got your ears pierced with small black earrings, you'd look extra beautiful."

"Is that even proper English?" Nico muttered.

"Maybe."

Nico just snorted and buried his face deeper into Will's warmth and gave a big yawn. Both of them were very tired from the previous night of restlessness though both were coving it up as much as possible in front of other people, but in this moment the two could relax...

Oh, wait, no they couldn't.

For a day or two after Christmas Will's nightmares almost subsided and Nico was elated, he began hoping that this was a progressive thing, something to show that Will was getting better. He had hoped that in a few months, the nightmares would be gone, it would be the perfect start to the New Year. Unfortunately, only three days after Christmas, Nico's hopes were dashed.

One night he found himself woken up at three in the morning. All was dark except the mini-sun at the top of the Christmas tree and Nico had been very confused as to why his inner body clock had gone whack.

He sat up trying to collect his thoughts when suddenly next to him, Will sat straight up and began to scream loudly in his sleep with eyes wide open.

 _Night terrors._

Nico took action fast, he'd had faced so many dreams when he'd woken up screaming and he never wanted to see this happening to anyone else. He started whispered Will's name in his ear and tried desperately to wake him up by stroking his face while running his hands through the blond hair, kissing his forehead . He could feel the sweat _pouring_ from Will and he wanted to cradle the boy in his arms for ever and ever. He had faced a lot in his years on Earth but he'd never wanted to panic and cry as much as that moment.

A few seconds Will stopped screaming and opened his tear filled eyes.

"Nico...? What..." He said in a broken voice, a few tears slipped down his cheek.

"Hey, hey, Will, you're ok..."

A camper stirred in another bed and Will and Nico's eyes widened before they both hit deck and pretended to be asleep while the other camper (Nico guess it was Max ) sat up, muttering something about 'So much bad music from Austin was making him go mad' for a few seconds before laying down slowly and going back to sleep. Nico and Will just lay there in silence, looking into each other's eyes for a few minutes longer just to make sure no one was awake, water running down Will's face and water threatening to run down Nico's face as well as he was forced to lay there, unable to help the beautiful boy in front of him.

"I think they're all asleep..." Nico whispered shakily a few moments later.

Almost immediately Will lunged at him and pulled him into an almost suffocating, bone crushing hug, weeping into his shoulder. Hearing a sound Nico never wanted to remember made a tear slip down Nico's face before he pulled himself together again. Will needed him.

"He- he was _there._ He was just- _just there."_ Will choked on a sob and made a strangled sound that made Nico's heart clench with worry before he started taking deep breaths mixed with little moans of pain.

Nico sighed and thought for a second. He had to try to talk to him, to keep him anchored, focused and not lost in a world of tears and bad memories.

"He's gone now Will... Don't wo-"

Will let another strangled noise. "He's _gone!_ " Will whimpered.

He hugged Nico tighter, curling up his legs until his body was cramped into a ball-like shape a person would make when hugging their knees for comfort. Seeing Will like this made Nico want to scream and hot angry coursed through him, he wanted to hurt whoever did this to Will and then build a castle of solitude, just for the both of them. But seeing this also reminded him of something... Or more specifically _someone._

 _Himself._

Nico didn't want to think about himself at a time like this, in his opinion he'd spent too much of his life wallowing in self pity and he intended to stop, especially when someone else was hurt, but holding Will just made memories resurface. Memories of a 10 year old Nico, crying by a fire on the streets, still trying to comprehend his sister's death. Nothing hurt more than her at the time. His heart felt like it had been ripped and he remembered how he sobbed and sobbed into the darkness on those gloomy nights...

...

Wha-

 _"_ _Have you ever experienced heartbreak?" Will asked suddenly_

 _Nico was quiet for a second before saying, "Yes."_

 _"_ _I have. It killed me." The blond's eyebrows furrowed. "Metaphorically of course."_

Oh.

 _"_ _Listen Nico, I appreciate your concern but you can't do anything, no one can. That's why I hide it. I'm a doctor, I know I have a problem, but I also know that there is only one person that can sort this out and he's... dead." Will whispered the last part._

Oh.

Oh _shit._

Did Will...

Oh.

Nico's heart felt like it was going at a million beats per second but the rest of the world had slowed down. Will's crying seemed distant and low, the tightness of his hug going from bone-crushing suffocation to lethal. Nico realised he was no longer holding a boy with PTSD, desperately trying to hide the night terrors for some mysterious reason, he was holding a cold survivor with no one to truly turn to. He was holding on to someone who thought they were always going to be alone, no one to understand them so they _had_ to hide the night terrors.

When Nico came to Camp after the Battle of Manhattan, after a while people just used to dismiss his nightmares.

" _Hey buddy, we've all lost someone. Get over yourself."_

But the nightmares kept plaguing him.

He was snapped out of his little realisation by Will choking on more words. Nico shook his head and began to stroke Will's hair, whispering comforting words into his ear.

"He was _there_ Nico! I could have _saved him. I could have saved him_! And I didn't. I didn't!" Will voice was rising into hysteria now. "He was THERE and- and I _could have saved him!"_ Will sobbed loudly _. "_ But I didn't. I _didn't._ The only talent I HAVE." Will laughed a small humourless laugh. "And I'm not even good at it. Pathetic." Will finished off in a whisper, confirming Nico's theory even more and also adding to it. _Will_ _saw this man die in the flesh._

Nico thought of all those times Will had looked down at his hands with disgust, saying how he was only good for one thing with such malice that Nico had sometimes become slightly afraid of complementing his healing powers. Nico had always been so confused. He was the best healer in camp and he knew it. Nico use to wonder for ages at a time why had had he always been so tough on himself.

"Oh Tesoro... Don't say that..." Nico cradled Will's head against his chest and kissed the top of his hair. "You are the most gorgeous, talented, beautiful person I know Tesoro and it breaks me to see you like this..." Nico moved one of his hands lower and started to draw random patterns on Will's back with one of his fingers. The boy in his arms snuffled a bit but he seemed to be done with crying. Done with crying, done with caring. Done with hoping, done with feeling motivated. Just silence. Nico wanted to carry on but he was cautious. Will was so much more than Nico expected. He thought that just knowing about the nightmares meant that he saw the sensitive side of Will but what Will was letting past his happy, careless mask that everyone knew and loved was just the beginning of a whole different person. It reminded him of the talk he had with Reyna after they went to San Juan.

After a minute of silence Nico heard Will take a long, deep breath and Nico would have given a limb just to know what he was thinking and feeling.

"I'm sorry." Will whispered against Nico's shirt.

"No Tesoro, don't be..." Nico ran his fingers through Will's hair.

Will pushed his head up and started to slowly uncurl his legs until Nico could feel them against his own before he decided to tangle them together like any other night before they went to sleep. Will's head peaked out through Nico's arms and Nico made space for him but never letting his eyes stray from the blonde's red, blotchy face. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, both lost for words, neither ready to break the silence that had settled between them. Nico's mind had been racing at a million miles per hour but suddenly it stopped. All that mattered was this broken man in front of him felt safe, no matter what it would take Nico would find a way to get him through life no matter how tough that promise may be. He'd find a way for the both of them.

What a pair they made. He had a feeling the two of them would spend many, many nights crying their tears, whispering words of comfort in each other's ears until five in the morning and there was nothing else to cry about. But maybe, just maybe, the two of them would get to a point when they could laugh and laugh and laugh without worrying or yearning or just hurting in general. Not to say they hadn't had some great times already. Nico couldn't count the amount of times Will had made him laugh until his sides hurt but there was always times like this to sour them good memories.

A quote he heard Chiron mutter when the centaur was visiting the hospital wing because a camper had a severe flashback in the middle of training came back to him.

 _"_ _The worst memories stick with us while the good ones seem to slip through our fingers."_

Well Nico intended to let no more memories slip through his fingers, he wanted to keep them under lock and key for whenever he wanted them.

In front of him Will suddenly pecked Nico's lips and looked at him with sad longing eyes and it took all Nico's will power not to wrap him in blankets and hug him for eternity.

"I'm sorry, I just- It was too much for me I guess... I should have tried harder to just-"

"Hey, no Will. Listen to me. I will be here. Any time, all the time. I love you Will, I'm not going to- to just... _leave_ you. Ever." Nico spoke with confidence, not caring at that moment if the promise could be fulfilled. Hopefully he spoke the truth.

Will gave a shaky smile and pecked his lips again. He took in a deep breath of air and swallowed audibly, the smile falling from his face leaving a very scared, raw picture. Tears welled in his eyes for a second but Will brought a hand up and wiped them all away before blinking rapidly until there were no tears left.

He looked at Nico, his face tired and weary. "Tell me what Tesoro means Nico..." Will said in a small, childish voice. Despite being almost ten months older than Nico, Will suddenly looked like a scared five year old.

"Darling. You are my Darling. You are my Tesoro." Nico paused, tossing around an idea in his head before deciding on a final decision. "My... My sister and I had nicknames for each other." Despite his attempts to hide it, Will's face betrayed him and Nico saw curiosity suddenly appear. Nico frowned realising he literally never talked about to Bianca to anyone any more. This thought somehow spurred him to talk more. "She always said I was like a little kitten, over excited and always curious. But even then I never really let many people in easily. So she called me Gattino. It means kitten in Italian. And... and to me, Bianca was like a Labrador puppy because she was just... Bianca. Sweet and always there. For me." Nico smiled. "So I called her Cucciolo which means p- well I'm sure you can guess."

"Puppy in Italian, right?" Will said.

Nico laughed. "Yes, gods you're almost fluent Will."

Will snorted and Nico gave himself a high five. "Well obviously, Italian _is_ the language of music and we all know how I'm the next Mozart." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"That piece you gave me was really good!"

"Hush with your lies young one. Now, how does the fact that you called your sister puppy have to do with Tesoro."

Nico saw and picked up on the fact that Will quickly moved the subject from him but decided not to comment. He may seem like a bad boyfriend but he understood that Will wanted to forget the past half an hour. Why would _anyone_ want to remember their weakest moments? So they could build themselves up from it? No. Nico knew that sometimes some things are best left forgotten. So he let the conversation move on swiftly but not before giving Will an affectionate, little kiss on his forehead.

"I thought that Tesoro could be your nickname." He frowned. "Or pet name. Whatever, the point is that I call you Tesoro. Under you'd rather something else..." Nico trailed off as Will looked at him with such intensity that Nico wasn't sure whether to think that it was with anger and run far away or hope it was love and run away anyway.

"You are gorgeous." Will whispered and all Nico could remember was two hands holding his face for a second before he was pulled into a soft but long kiss, lips locked with each other. Vaguely in the back of Nico's mind he was wondering if it was healthy to go through so many moods in the matter of thirty seconds but the way Will was looking at him as if there was no one else that mattered in the world made Nico's heart melt and he had to focus all his energy so he wouldn't give up his soul to the boy in front of him right then and there.

Will had stopped kissing him and was now staring at him again but with a look of slight shock.

"I'm..." He blinked. "I'm sorry, I just..." Will honestly seemed speechless with himself but Nico had an idea.

"Can you call me that?" Will frowned, obviously confused. "Gorgeous I mean. As a nickname because I was going to call you Tesoro but if-"

Will smiled. "I would love to."

Nico smiled back with relief deciding that he had lived through one of the most stressful and confusing nights he'd probably ever experienced and yet there they were three days later painting each other's finger nails.

After Will was done painting both hands at least twice the two them sat in silence, Will stroking Nico's practically frozen fingers and Nico had found a little blond curl longer than the others and was concentrating very hard on making it bounce up and down like a spring made out of silk. Every now and then Will would rest his chin on Nico's head before kissing his hair gently and Nico would somehow try to snuggle deeper into Will's neck, seeking warmth on such a cold December day.

 _Last day of December_ Nico thought with a slight sense of surprise. It's felt like November was only a week ago and yet here they were, ending one year and just starting another. But he was starting this one with people. With friends and loved ones, with people that Nico wanted to protect and they wanted to protect him. He hoped they did anyway.

Suddenly a small boy from what looked like the Hephaestus cabin sprinted past them, an older girl chasing him, screaming at the top of her lungs and Nico noticed the boy was holding what looked like either the most dangerous firework ever or just lots of smaller fireworks mixed together. Either way, the girl had a valid reason to run after him screaming but Nico thought of something.

Nico tore his eyes away from the explosive boy and looked up at Will. "Do they have fireworks on New Years here like on the fourth of July?"

Will swallowed before stiffly nodding his head, lips in a tight line.

"Are they as good as the fourth?" Nico asked raising an eyebrow.

Will gave a non-committal shrug.

Nico bit his lip, not oblivious to the fact that Will had decided to become distant. He decided that he would just have to be blunt.

"You... you want to talk about anything Tesoro?" Nico asked hesitantly, hoping to be soft.

Will took a deep breath of cold air and breathed out, filling the air with smokey-looking frost before he put a tired smile on his face and looked at Nico, sadness etched into his eyes as Nico felt the boy force himself to relax.

"I'm ok Gorgeous." Will whispered and kissing Nico softly and silently on the lips. "Don't worry about me."

Nico frowned. "Will, I want to worry about you. I hate seeing you like this, I hate waking up to you sweating buckets and you just brush me off when I ask about it. I have kept your secret because I know how important secrets can be, believe me, but ever since that first night you have never told me anything. I hate thinking that the most I know was because the dream was so bad it woke you up screaming and crying." He felt his lip tremble a bit which was strange. He usually had more control than this over himself but slowly he felt all the barriers collapse. "I don't want to pressure you into... into _anything._ All I ask is that you just give me just one explanation. Just one. To why... just why Tesoro." Nico stared Will in the eye and raised his hand to stroke Will's cheek.

Slowly, Will took Nico's hand in his and opened his mouth to speak.

"Your nails are still wet." He whispered.

...

Nico blinked. He was torn between wanting to snort with laughter or to slap the boy in front of him at the incredulously off topic answer to his little speech.

Will must have realised his inner debate and must have realised that the side that was winning strongly wasn't going to work in his favour because he quickly started talking again.

"Look Nico..." He bit his lip. "I just have... I just have ghosts I guess and I don't want to worry you, yeah?"

Nico deadpanned. Will sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead of Nico and Will knew Nico enough to know that Nico had faced a few ghosts in his time too.

"Will, I don't want you to feel like I'm just trying to guilt trip you into confessing something but I worry myself sick over you. I just want to help. When my sister died I pushed away all help and look where that got me. Just let me in please Will. I love you." Nico finished.

Will bit his lip and sighed.

"Ok. I'll tell you what happened."

Nico was speechless. He felt like he was about to open a book telling him the secrets of the universe.

"Tomorrow."

And suddenly the book was gone, the universe exploded and Nico was no longer speechless at all.

"Tomorrow?"

"New Year, new start?" Will said hopefully.

Nico sighed. "Ok. But definitely tomorrow."

"Thank you Gorgeous." Will muttered before kissing Nico's head. "Let's just enjoy the fireworks tonight without any bad memories."

Nico smiled. "That sounds like a plan."

They sat there, the picture of a perfect couple looking after each other despite the inner turmoil that was invisible to the outside world. The two held each other, covered in a blanket keeping out the cold, listening to the radio next to them.

"Why is Taylor Swift on?"

"She is a good music artist!"

"..."

"Better than what you listen to."

"Is not!"

"Yes, it is."

"KAYLA! WHAT'S BETTER TAYLOR SWIFT OR PANIC!"

...

"HA."

"Shut up di Angelo."

"I love you too Tesoro."

Everyone was getting ready for the New Years fireworks at midnight. Coats were flung every surface, scarves and gloves could be found almost everywhere (even though someone was yet to find a matching pair) and the sound of stomping boots was heard all through camp as everyone made their way over to the beach where the fireworks were being held.

Nico had been ready ages ago despite the little set back when Will and him had a bit of a... _debate_ to whether Nico's ' _New Year, New Days To Regret yay'_ jumper was appropriate and, unfortunately for Nico, Will won after a few very persuasive kisses. Now he had to wait for Will who very gradually started to slow down. Just putting a pair of socks on had taken him five minutes and he'd also become very quiet. Nico frowned. Perhaps he would have a reason tomorrow when Nico was going to be given a full explanation. He hoped that explanation also told him why everyone had been looking at Will like he had been sent an invite to his own funeral (Nico almost got one himself when one of the zombies at Hades palace was certain he'd killed Nico when Nico was hit in the head accidentally with a broom and had fallen down three sets of stairs.) and then everyone looked like Apollo had turned up at camp and did a tap dance when Will started getting ready for the fireworks. Nico felt like everyone else had a bar of gold and Nico's had gotten lost in the post.

Finally Will zipped up his puffer coat and put on a smile before taking Nico's hand in his. The two of them stood there for a moment, the only ones in Cabin 6. Nico bit his lip and took Will's other hand as well so they were facing one another.

"Anything wrong Will?" Nico asked softly.

Will swallowed. "Nothing that I won't tell you tomorrow Nico, I promise. For now let's just say I haven't been to the fireworks in a while."

"I can deal with that." Nico said. He reached up and pushed a curl of blond hair out of Will's eyes gently, suddenly feeling the need to absorb every detail of Will's face. He took in the little dimple that had appeared on the right side of his mouth with is smile, he took in the slightly visible cheekbones that structured Will's face and the jaw line that made Nico want to place little kisses along it. He realised how much he loved how Will's nose curved up just slightly to make it look a little snubby and how freckles were dotted all over it. His eyes were truly something to look at too. They were the colour of a crystal clear sea, sparkling in the sun light and just them eyes alone made Nico want to never stop smiling for this boy in front of him.

Nico brought his hand down and put it in Will's. "Do you want to go now?" Nico asked.

Will looked at his watch. "I think we've got time." Will smiled again and this time it was 100% real. "Have I told you how much I love the colour of your eyes Nico?" Will whispered. Nico shook his head. "Well, I do. I can never decide whether they are chocolate or hazelnut and sometimes they brighten up when you get excited and then there are a million more possibilities of colour. They're just gorgeous. Gorgeous eyes fitting a gorgeous boy..." Will leaned in smirking because Nico could feel that he was blushing. Hard. Nico ducked down and quickly walked towards the door.

"Oh would you look at the time, yup just what I thought, we've got to go now."

Will laughed "Ok Neeks." Will walked out the door with him into the cold air. "You haven't been that flustered in a while Gorgeous, what's wrong?" Asked Will with fake surprise. Nico didn't answer, his cheeks not quite recovered. Will smirked "Although I notice... Your cheeks turned a little... red, didn't they?"

"Shut up Solace."

Will snorted before dragging Nico in for a sudden kiss on the lips. To Nico's slight dismay it was a very short kiss. "As you said Gorgeous we've got to get going. Come on."

And off they walked to the beach together, hand in hand.

When they got to the beach, Nico was surprised at how much change had happened in one day. There was almost never anyone on the beach in the winter with the freezing sea and frigid winds. That added with the fact that almost no campers stayed in the winter holidays anyway made the beach quite quiet in December but tonight the area looked like a fiesta on drugs with colourful lights, people everywhere (some didn't even stay at camp _ever_ unless Nico had been missing giant centaurs cantering around for the past few weeks.) and the drop-dead _gorgeous_ smell of food. Shouts of joy could be heard from every direction, mostly coming from the people who were biting into crepes, doughnut, candyfloss, caramel apples and any other sweet, sugary treat that you could find in the stalls lining up and down the beach. The cliff over-looking the sea, the one where Nico and Will had shared that special morning a few weeks ago, was lined with little candles, making it look homely and cute. Couples and groups of friends could be seen on blankets everywhere on the cliff, as it was the perfect place to admire the fireworks and celebrate the coming of a New Year. Nico could make out the figures of their friends sitting on the cliff, quite near the front and quite possibly with the best view.

Nico was trying to obtain Will's attention to ask if they could go up and join everyone else but every time he opened his mouth to speak, someone came up to pat Will on the back or ask if he was ok. Will was very nice to all the campers who approached them to express their concerns for... Well, Nico didn't know yet but he was hoping he would tomorrow. Nico was less considerate. He'd much rather tell everyone to get lost and take Will off to the cliff with all of their mates. Unfortunately for Nico the amount of people interrupting them seemed to be increasing and after a while Will started to get sick of it too, answering everyone with short, snappy words until eventually Chiron came over.

"Hello Will, hello Nico, I see that you two seem to be-ah, a bit popular tonight?"

Nico snorted. Will elbowed him before smiling at the cetaur. "Yes, it's becoming a bit of a problem actually. I'm finding it pretty hard to enjoy an evening with a million people asking the same question."

"They're just concerned though, you know that don't you?" Chiron asked.

Will sighed before nodding.

"I'm also a little surprised to see you hear too but never the less I'm also incredibly happy that you're here to enjoy the fireworks with the rest of us." He looked at Nico who was gazing at Jason and Piper who were making their way up the hill to the rest of their friends. Nico snapped his head back to the conversation after realising his lack of attention had been noticed. Chiron smiled. "I see Nico would like to find a seat hmm?" Nico flushed in embarrassment but nodded anyway. "Well I won't stop you two, I just came over to check up on Will. Don't worry, I'll be the last one interrupt, I'll make sure of that. Go on, enjoy your evening." With one last smile he walked away.

"Finally." Nico muttered. "Can we go and sit down now? Preferably without anyone rudely interrupting?"

Will laughed. "I admit, they were getting a bit annoying."

"A _bit?"_

"Ok, very annoying. But remember Nico, I haven't... been here for the past few years. At the beach I mean. So some people would be a bit concerned and surprised."

Nico sighed. "Yeah I see your point. But still, now we're going to sit down. Right?"

"Yeah, yeah but first we need food."

"Now _that_ is something I agree with."

Will took Nico's hand and led them through the hordes of people milling around the beach. Together they went to almost every stand and ending up carrying candy floss, doughnuts, crepes, roasted hazelnuts and what felt like a million other types of junk food up to the cliff where all their friends sat.

They dumped all their food down onto the ground in front of the blankets.

"I present to you all... Diabetes!" Will said proudly.

Percy chuckled before putting his hand up. "I thought you were the doctor here sir."

Nico rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought but Mister Stuff-Your-Face here insisted on buying everything out there." He raised an eyebrow as Will sat down on the blanket and reached his arms out to Nico as an invitation to sit on his lap.

"You know you love me and the food."

Nico sighed. "I can't disagree there." He said and welcomed Will's arms by sitting in his new seat and wrapping both arms around himself. No matter how much he teased Will, he loved the huggable idiot from head to toe.

Will frowned. "Wait did you just agree to loving me or the food? Because your grammar was a bit unspecific."

Nico laughed and turned round to face Will with a doughnut in his hand. He reached up and put the doughnut in Will's mouth. "Shut up Solace."

Will bit into the sugary treat and pulled away a little too fast so jam flicked onto his nose. Nico smiled softly.

"You've got jam on your nose." He whispered.

Will crossed his eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah..." And before Nico could stop himself he had tilted his head up and kissed his nose, taking the sugary jam along with him. Slowly pulling away he stared at Will in the eye, getting lost in them once again but this time he'd brought a map. Putting the doughnut down, Nico turned to straddle Will and brought both hands up to cup his cheeks before pulling him into a deep kiss. Just like Nico memorised Will's face earlier, he wanted to memorise Will's lips now which belonged to him. He wanted to remember every little crease he came across, he wanted to remember how it felt to lock mouths and to feel their face's so close to one another. He wanted to remember Will's tongue and how both of them moved together like a dance that was worth four tens. He wanted to remember every little part of the experience of kissing Will.

They broke apart, the picture of innocent love on both of their faces. Nico swallowed thickly.

"Gods I love you Tesoro." Nico choked out before lunging at Will and burying his face into Will's neck, inhaling his scent. He wasn't quite sure why he'd come over so emotional suddenly.

"I love you too Gorgeous." Will mumbled. They stayed like that for five minutes while the rest of the world went on around them. Nico wanted to stay like that forever with the boy of his dreams in his arms but unfortunately for him, the New Year was knocking on the door.

"Come on Gorgeous, let's count down. It's only a minute left." Will said in his ear.

Nico nodded and came out his cocoon to turn around and face the clear, dark sky stretched out in front of them. If Nico concentrated hard and blocked out the noise around them he could pretend that they were the only people in the universe and there was nothing that could disturb their peace. Nico knew more than anyone else that deceiving himself even for a few seconds wasn't a good idea but for once Nico allowed himself to hold the fantasy in place for a moment or two before coming back to reality.

Behind him he heard Piper say something about the time and Nico was suddenly aware that the camp had gone quiet. Well, as quiet as you could get a bunch of kids and party ponies to be really but it was still a difference and it was only then that Nico noticed something.

"Where are the Romans?"

Everyone looked at him like he was mad and Nico didn't appreciate it. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Percy looked at Annabeth quickly with a concerned look on his face. "We told you before Will presented us with the food, remember?"

Nico shook his head looking around with a confused look. After a few seconds debating in his head he decided they must be pulling his leg. He gave a short nervous laugh. "You're kidding right?"

All his friends shook their heads with completely serious expressions. Nico felt Will tighten his arms around his waist. Nico bit his lip and desperately tried to remember what they had said to him but there was a kind of a blank space just before Will presented the food, like a piece of film had been cut out of a movie.

"They're at Camp Jupiter because they have their own celebrations there." Jason half whispered.

It didn't ring any bells in Nico mind but he just went along with it, ignoring the pit of panic that was siring in his stomach.

He let out what was supposed to be a fake but convincing care-free laugh to settle everyone's worries but what came out sounded like a monkey being strangled. "Oh I remember now. Whoops!" He could tell no one was convinced but at the moment the countdown for New Years had started.

"TEN."

 _But they never said that to me..._

"NINE."

 _They never said..._

"EIGHT."

 _Never said what again?_

 _"_ SEVEN."

 _About the Romans._

"SIX."

 _What about the Romans?_

"FIVE!"

 _I... I don't remember._

"FOUR!"

 _They just told you!_

"THREE!"

 _Told me what?_

 _"_ TWO!"

 _I... I don't know._

 _"_ _ONE!"_

And suddenly the world came into focus again and Nico had forgotten about the internal panic he'd just had. Just before everyone screamed 'Happy New Year' Nico remembered that people kissed on the stroke of midnight on New Years so he quickly plastered an intelligent and happy mask over his face.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

A cheer went up from everyone as the sound of fireworks went off and soon the sky was lit with colourful lights that filled Nico with genuine joy. He felt like a kid again as he stared, wide-eyed at all the patterns in the sky. The Hephaestus cabin had truly out done themselves.

After just circles and multi-coloured shapes, fireworks representing the cabins started.

"JUPI- Zeus, whatever. BEST CABIN, YEAH!" Nico heard Jason yell behind him as a blue '1' exploded with blue lightning all around in.

Following the Zeus cabin, each cabin's number with a little image to go along with it appeared in the sky. For Poseidon there was a massive trident and Nico swore he saw a little Nemo swimming around the tips. Never the less Percy let out a whoop.

For Demeter there was an array of different plants and crops, Ares had miniature wars breaking out all over sky, Athena had an array of snakes and owls flying everywhere (Nico could almost feel Annabeth's proud face as he heard her whisper about animals of wisdom). Apollo apparently was the god of far too much and so was represented by five children, one holding a sheet of music, one who was sticking bandages and plasters all over their arms and legs, one who was holding a sun high above their head, one who was writing the words 'haiku, sonnet, free verse' over and over and finally one child was shooting arrows in the sky which exploded into more fireworks.

"I do believe," Nico murmured twisting his head to look at Will, "that the little kid with the plasters was based off you."

"I wish to correct you actually," Will whispered in Nico's ear, making him shiver. "That kid _is_ me."

Nico twisted round more in shock. "Really?"

Will nodded. "When I first came here my pockets were stuffed with plasters and bandages. I used to turn up to dinner after hiding for hours with them all over me. Jake Mason was around my age and we hung out a lot and he must have remember my younger self and put it into the firework." Will gazed up with a soft smile if remembering younger days when they didn't have to worry. Nico sometimes did that. He spent a lot of his spare time remembering the days of Italian sun spent hearing his mother singing softly in the heat. He reminisced on dragging Bianca to every new arcade game that appeared in the Lotas Casino. No matter how much Nico resented the Casino for leaving him in the past and then thrusting him into the modern world, he couldn't help but think if they'd be better off there. Bianca would be alive, Nico could go about his life in some fantasy and it would just never end. It was a kid's dream. But then he wouldn't have met Will and _that_ was a meeting that Nico just couldn't give up.

Will kissed the back of Nico's ear and Nico stretched his neck to give him most space.

"I love you Tesoro, strange plaster habits and all." His eye's fluttered shut.

"Hmmm..." Will murmured against Nico's pale neck. He felt Will place kisses down his neck and then up to his jaw line before finally ending on Nico's mouth. They kissed sweetly and innocently, merely touching lips but the feeling behind it all made it so much more.

"It's your cabin next Nico." Will mumbled against his lips.

Nico nodded and turned slowly to face the sky. A rocket came up and a '13' filled the sky and a skull came up. Usually Nico would be miffed that it was just about death but what a skull it was. Exquisite patterns covered the forehead and the cheek bones making it look like Nico's Halloween make-up and all the lines were made of what looked like glitter making the entire skull light up. It was most certainly one of the most beautiful things to line the sky that night.

"Happy New Year Tesoro."

"Happy New Year Gorgeous."

The next morning the entire camp was silent. Despite Chiron's strict rules Nico was sure that 80% of the campers were just suffering from hangover and the rest of the just wanted a lie in. Nico was a little bit of both. Last night was truly amazing despite his... Nico frowned. He was sure something unsettling had happened last night but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Weird.

Next to him Will stirred. He gave a long yawn and looked at Nico bleary eyes.

"Morning Tesoro."

"Grh." Came Will's response.

Nico chuckled and kissed his forehead. "I love you too."

Will grinned at him for a second before sighing deeply. "Give me ten minutes Nico to wake up and we can get changed. I know a place where no one will find us." Nico looked at him questioningly. "I owe you an explanation."

Please review guys, I love this fanfic but I'm losing will to finish it if I don't know that the work is being appreciated or hated. So just leave a little comment for me to read, I really do appreciate it.

Happy New Year! A little bit of angst coming up, most than usual. Xx

PalletshippingSolangeloLove


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, it does make my day and I usually don't reply to reviews but I will try to now. I know I can't reply to Guests so I'll thank you all now. THANK YOU! I'll try for better spelling and stuff in this chapter but some parts will be purposely mis-spelt and will have incorrect grammar.**

 **BUT NOW! On with the story...**

If you were to walk through Camp Half Blood's woods early on January 1st, you'd never suspect two boys were there. You could search high and low for them and yet still come back empty handed. You could search the trees, the bushes and the boulders. You could ask the tree nymphs and the water nymphs but you'd never find them. It's like they weren't actually there...

Don't worry, they were there. You wouldn't be a dog chasing its tail if you attempted to find them, but then again, it probably wasn't worth trying to find them anyway. But I'll give you a hint. They were _underground._ No, not the labyrinth, they weren't there. They were somewhere else... But you'd never find them so I'm going to get on with the story.

The two of them were in a trench-looking space. The only light came from two dim lamps and the place was barely what you would call homely. Two beds, one table, some water and food and a painted boar on one of the wooden walls, the symbol of Ares, staring almost accusingly down at the both of them. Nico sat on a bed, watching Will carefully. The boy with blond curls was currently sitting on the table opposite Nico and didn't seem keen on the choice of location for their little talk. He was pale and clammy and was breathing heavily. He's hands were shaking and his hair was greasy despite having a shower only the day before.

Nico was half afraid to talk but he couldn't stand seeing Will like this. "Will," He said quietly. "We don't have to do this you know. Or we can go somewhere else if you'd like." But Will shook his head slowly.

"I'm fine Nico. I just... I just haven't talked about this in a while. But I'm _fine._ Plus, this location is the best one. It's the safest one." He muttered.

Nico frowned. To him it was just a trench look-a-like in the middle of the forest. Anyone could find them. But he trod carefully around the subject for Will's sake. Breathing deeply he was about to ask why when Will spoke again.

"He made it. He made it safe for us." Will smiled a broken smile and looked up at Nico. "He had his charms and talents. He said it would always be safe for me and I trust-" He sighed. "I trust _ed_ him."

A few moments of silence passed. Nico swallowed and let out a long breath, defeated. "You're talking in riddles Tesoro. I don't understand." He whispered. Will smiled slightly and walked over to Nico's bed and lay on it. He took Nico's hand in his and bit his lip, all the time staring at the ceiling. Nico didn't talk but instead waited patiently, ready for when Will started his speech.

After a moments silence, Will opened his mouth to speak.

"You're not my first boyfriend you know." Will stated. Although Nico never really knew if Will had boyfriends before him or not, he wasn't surprised that he wasn't Will's first.

"I don't mind." He said softly.

Will smiled at him gratefully before going back to staring at the ceiling. "My first one was a silly thing back when I was 10. It only lasted a day. My second one however... He came along in my second year of camp. I was twelve and although it sounds really young and stupid, we honestly thought we would last forever. I said I said I was friends with Jake, right?" Nico nodded. "Well, my ex went around with us too. He was called Josh. And at the start we just thought it would be a cool thing to do because we, well we both liked boys and we just, I don't know, started half dating, half just friends. He was my first kiss and everything and we were together for what felt like ages. Because he was a child of Ares Josh was pretty reckless sometimes but whenever I was around he was as good as gold. We hung out all the time and he was just... So gentle with me." He sighed and smiled sadly, turning slightly to face Nico. "He would have these smiles and they were like a language, if there were no dimples appearing when he smiled, it was fake, when he raised an eyebrow at me and then smiled I knew he was planning something. And there was a smile that I would know a mile away. His eyes would shine and he had little dimples that I loved and he would look at me like I was the only person in the world, the only person he cared about. He would do anything to see me happy." Will swallowed thickly and his grip on Nico's hand tightened.

"I had a baby sister back home that I couldn't visit. We decided it was too far away and Mum just wanted to make life as simple as possible by keeping her existence a bit of a secret. But Mum used to write paragraphs and paragraphs to me about her and she sounded like a little angel. My little angel. Our little angel. But, alas, angels belong in heaven don't they." Will said, his eyes welling up with tears. Nico felt like he'd been hit with a sledge hammer. Will had a _sister?_ Who was _dead_!

"Oh Will..." Nico said and lay down next to him, curling up into the heat of the blond boy's body.

"When Josh found out he dropped everything to make sure I was ok. He would get me whatever I wanted and told me over and over and over again that he loved me and cared for me..." Will voice cracked and he let out a sob. "He even built me this shelter and made it so no one would find us. We would spend hours in here together and he'd let me cry and cry and cry. After a month I seemed to be getting over it or "dealing" with it and... and that was where the dream stopped.

"Josh use to go and travel for a few day's at a time, spontaneously, and then come back with stories of great cities and the lovely people he met and the food's he tasted. I'd always worry about him but underneath it all, it excited me. He would bring back little presents for me from everywhere he'd go... But one day he left without telling me and he didn't come back for an entire week. People got a little frantic and were about to send out a search party when suddenly he just appeared again in camp. Everyone was so happy he was back that no one seemed to notice how he felt and when I tried to be upbeat I realised that he was using only fake smiles. He never shone anymore and he never had time for us. There was always something to do, somewhere to go and he looked _exhausted ._ He had bags under his eyes and he would never run or talk or anything. For an entire week. And he left again for a week and then came back again and again until it became normal. But each time he came back he shared no stories and he bought nothing and he seemed to be flaking away until the old Josh had left and a new one had taken his place. And this new one was _scary._ " Will's lip trembled. "He would be violent, he would fight anyone, the smallest noise would make him scream, and everyone to him was an enemy. The times I got with him alone he would just cry for hours on end into my shoulder and I didn't know why. He started to talk about scary things. He asked me to make a suicide pact with him once and any other time he would go on and on about him dying and the way's he'd like to die. He told me that he'd planned out my own death for me and that really struck me. He even tried to set himself on fire. He'd gone crazy..." Will whispered before he let out a sob. "Oh I'm so STUPID!" He cried out suddenly, making Nico jump.

"No, Will-"

"He was frigging- UGH! Nico, he was mad! Everyone saw that! And guess what I tried to do. Fix it. By myself- Oh dear gods. I frigging..." He took several deep breaths while Nico rubbed his thumb on Will's hand. A few seconds passed before Nico looked up to see tears running down Will's face and within seconds Nico had his arms wrapped around the boy's frame and was wiping the water off his face. He whispered sweet nothings into Will's ear hoping that it would calm him and after a few minutes the tears had stopped flowing.

"At the start of December," Will started again, "He left again. But this time... He didn't come back for three weeks. And I still loved him. I had somehow... _convinced_ myself that somewhere out there... My Josh was there. I cried so much in that month. No matter how much I cried when my sister died I always had Josh there to keep me going. But when he left... I just cried and cried and cried and cried... I don't remember much about that December except crying and my healing powers weakening. If I couldn't even save myself, how could I save others... And then came Christmas day.

"I didn't expect much to happen. I couldn't be bothered to celebrate. I just wanted Josh. But I got up anyway and went outside... And there he was-" Will let out another sob. More tears started falling from his blue eyes and Nico felt like crying himself. He didn't care if this was Will's ex-boyfriend they were talking about all Nico cared about was that Will had been through pain. So much pain.

"He was standing there, smiling at me, really smiling at me. It was him again..." All that could be heard for a few seconds was Will's little sobs. "And acted as if he _loved_ me again and that was the best Christmas present I could ever wish for. And that the end of the day... At the end of the day he asked me to go on a trip with him and I was just _so happy_ that... that I said yes." His voice trailed into a whisper. "We walked to the perimeter of New York's main shopping district and suddenly this... _thing_ appeared and snatched the two of us and took us somewhere. It took us to a giant warehouse- looking space and oh gods... the stench. There were dead bodies everywhere, displayed like decorations on the floor and the way they looked..." He gasped. "I think I'm going to be sick." He whispered.

"No Will don't think, don't think about it, blank your mind. Look at me Will. What colour are my eyes?" Nico started, desperate to make Will stop thinking about the warehouse.

"I... I don't know... They always change- Ohgods one of them-"

"No Will, I have to know, what colour are my eyes? Chocolate? Hazel?"

"Err," Will still looked green but Nico could see he was more focused now. "They are... they are perfect? Gorgeous. They're gorgeous."

"Good. Now we can stop now if you want or-"

"No. I'm going to finish. We walked through the hall... And there were thrones at the front. I think they were gods, minor ones, but I can't remember... It was like a piece of film had been cut out of my memory but... I remember the torture. They... They... T-they made Josh do it. They made him kick and hurt me. To make... I don't know. I... can't remember. I do remember one person though. God. Whatever. His name was Horkos and he was god of... broken oaths? And I was there for five days." Nico tightened his hug. "Until New Year's Eve. I remember it really clear in my mind. Josh was in an argument with some about me and they were asking him why I was there and what use I was. Josh said that I could heal people but that wasn't good enough for them. Then one of them asked if he broke his oath... His oath that meant he swore he didn't love any of the hostages which included me. So they got Horkos in to check if he was lying and... and he was. He loved me... And I knew it was me because he... he said it was. I was so happy. So happy... But then," Will sobs became louder. "One of them came up... And stabbed him. I ran over with all gods present and I tried so hard to save him. So hard... But he died... And somehow Ares helped destroy the warehouse but- but Josh still... still..."

"Will you don't have to say it, don't worry."

"But I said something Nico! Something bad! And... And I'm scared. I'm really scared."

"What did you say Will?" Nico stilled and stared at Will intently.

"I said I wouldn't love anyone but Josh... And if I did, they'd go through the same pain as me..."

 _Silence._

 **So a little shorter but I hope you all liked it! Again, thank you for the reviews, they really inspire me to write and love this story.**

 **Bye x**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello!**

 **Thank fuck January is over! Honestly, it's the worst month, there's nothing to look forward to. (Sorry if your birthday is in January. Whoops!)**

 **But here is a new chapter and (spoiler) it's angsty. Please review after you've read it, just to let me know if you like it or not because after I've finished writing it I'm considering going through all the chapters and just making the content a little better. I'd really love to see this fic in its best light and I want to know what I can do for it.**

 **But enough of my rambles.**

If January wasn't bad enough, the fact that Nico felt like death more than he did when he visited the underworld didn't do much favours. Every day, Nico felt like his mind was deteriorating, as if it was an ancient ruin crumbling into dust and although it had probably started a few days or so before January 1st, Nico felt like it had started almost as soon as Will had stopped talking.

He remembered that day so clearly. Nico had expected it to go fuzzy, like it was a dream and he would try to convince himself that it wasn't real but it remained bright and not-so-beautiful in his mind, replaying every time he closed his eyes. The way Will had promptly burst into tears after a brief silence, the way Nico held him stiffly as he tried to take everything he had been told and what was happening in at the same time, sending his mind into overdrive before it shut down. The two of them stayed in the bunker all day and all night as a blanket of sadness settled over them, leaving them solemn and silent, both acting like they were attending a funeral. The question was though, whose was it?

The next day they walked hand in hand out of the wood, back to camp. At first their presence was greeted with wolf-whistles and cheeky remarks until everyone fell silent at the sight of their tear-stained faces and their sober atmosphere. In three seconds all of Will's siblings had raced over to them, surrounding the pair and bombarding them with softly-spoken questions. Nico raised his face to stare at Will, ignoring everyone else, as the blond kept his blue eyes trained on the ground occasionally giving stiff nods when necessary. The two of them were then led to the Apollo cabin and after that Nico's memory was cut short.

In fact in the next few days, Nico noticed that a lot of his memory was missing. At first he would realise in the middle of the day he didn't know what he ate for breakfast and whether he had art or sword fighting next, even if someone had just told him. Then he started to realise that he was forgetting things like which cabin was the Apollo one despite it being bright as a sun-bed or he'd be standing in the fighting arena in his pyjamas with no clue how he got there. In a week it had got to a point where Will had someone stationed by him almost 24/7 to look after him and fill Will in on what he'd been doing. Nico wasn't keen on this idea when it presented itself in conversation but after a few days he was grateful for it, just so he knew what was happening at all times even if he didn't remember. Will also was writing a daily log of each day's activities to keep Nico rooted and alert. Nico would nod and go along with everything but inside he was really scared. It unnerved him to read Will's journals everyday and not remember half of it. He felt like a small kid again who was confused and upset while everyone sorted out his life for him and just like a little kid, all he wanted to do when he was scared was relax in the protective embrace of his mother. A tear slipped down his cheek each and every time he thought about how he would never know a mothers loving embrace. He'd never be able to just go to her when he thought life couldn't get any worse or if he had a problem. So he had to go with the next best thing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nico came out of the bathroom to see Will writing feverishly in his journal on his bed, once again surrounded with bandages and plasters. No one else was in the room because, really, the two of them should have been at the campfire, singing with the rest of the camp. Will looked so tense and was concentrating so hard that Nico was afraid to disturb him and almost lost his nerve to talk, already turning around to hide in the bathroom until Will finished writing. But just when Nico was about to step through the doorway, Will looked up at him and put the pen and book down to stretch his arms out to Nico in a way of asking him to approach him. Nico almost smiled in relief and he immediately power walked over to his bed so he could climb into the warmth of his boyfriend and the snugly duvet.

Will ran his hand through Nico's hair a few times before bending down to kiss him. "You don't mind if I finish my writing do you?" He whispered. Nico shook his head silently and watched as Will took up the small book again and started scribbling in it again.

After five minutes or so Nico was starting to get tired and yawned widely, alerting Will.

"Go to sleep Gorgeous..."

Nico shook his head sleepily, "I need," _yawn "_ To talk to you."

Will set his book down and stared at Nico with concern. "Why didn't you say anything Neeks?"

"You were writing. To help me." Nico whispered, lifting his hand from under the duvet to hold Will's.

Will immediately pulled away and Nico frowned until he realised that he was just getting off the top of the duvet to get under it with Nico. "Not if you want talk to me Nico. Your needs are my top priority, just ask me anything."

Nico smiled softly at him and caressed his face with his free hand. "You care so much Tesoro," A tear he didn't know he was fighting slipped from his eye. "I love you so much."

Will wiped the tear from his cheek and Nico was overcome with so much love and affection for the blond boy in front of him he was rendered speechless for a moment. Part of him, a very small part mind you, wanted to be angry at Will. It wanted to blame him for everything that has happened and will continue happening for, perhaps, ever and that part of Nico just wanted to ditch Will and get over him. He could deal without his gorgeous face looking at him every day, right? (No, he couldn't, let's be honest.) But no matter how hard that part of Nico tried, it could never get bigger and scarier because Nico couldn't find it in himself to hate someone for something like falling in love with somebody. In fact, if Nico should be angry at anybody, it should be Josh. Or whoever changed Josh's mind and brought him over to the dark side. But most of all, Nico should have been, and was, angry at love. Bit of an oxymoron, right? To hate love? But everyone's experienced it, that dawning realisation how love plays such a big role in our lives and then it just fucks everyone over. Nico had always been annoyed by love but his hatred was strongest now, it was just unfortunate that he couldn't do anything about it. So he let himself forget about it now and concentrate on Will.

Will lightly kissed his forehead and smiled. "I love you too Gorgeous." He frowned, "Now, what did you want to tell me."

Nico frowned and opened his mouth to talk but the words didn't come. The intensity of the emotions in that moment overwhelmed him and he was rendered speechless once more. He blinked again and again until finally Will put him out of his silent misery by kissing his forehead and lifted his chin so they were eye to eye.

"How about," Will whispered, "We both say a little sentence to sum up what we're thinking. Yeah?"

Nico smiled gratefully and let out a little sigh of relief. He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve such an amazing boy that looked after him and was patient with him and just always had the answer.

"I'll go first." Nico said. He just wanted to talk now. So he buried his head in the warmth of his boyfriend's chest, smelling the anti-septic and lavender and opened his mouth to find words were found this time round.

"I'm scared Will." He whispered.

Will was quite for a while before Nico felt his arms tighten around him.

"And I am so, so sorry Nico." Will breathed quietly soon after.

A silence settled over them as they both thought about how much their lives had changed over the past few months. Only five months ago they were bickering over whether Nico was going to spend three days in the infirmary after the war with Gaia and now here they were, wondering if their lives were truly doomed as demi-gods and seriously regretting the fact that they both agreed to the hero-gig.

Nico laughed without humour. "What a pair we make hu?"

Will snorted. "Well if we live through this we'll have lots of stories for the younger generations."

Nico smiled "Yeah." He decided to ignore the 'if' in 'if we live through this' and tried to imagine a future with Will. It looked nice.

"Where would you want to live when you're older?" Will said quietly.

Nico frowned. "With you, silly."

He could almost see the frown on Will's face as he realised Nico completely avoided the real question.

"Nico you know I might-"

Nico tightened his grip on Will as if this hug would protect the two of them forever. "No Will, I don't care about the probability of... a happy future." He sighed. "I want to live with you. In New Rome preferably. Tell me about it."

Nico felt Will shift and he looked up to see Will staring at him in confusion. "What?"

Nico shuffled up so they were nose to nose, almost kissing. "Tell me about our future together and the nights we'll spend looking at the stars and the coffees we'll share outside the best shops" Nico didn't want to stop, he just wanted to make up a future for them. "and the afternoons we'll spend doing nothing and the house we'll have and the dinners we'll make for one another and all the movies we'll watch on the couch, just tell me. Please." He finished slightly out of breath. Will smiled warmly at him and Nico knew he had been won over.

Nico grinned and turned around so Will was spooning him as he got ready to listen to a fantasy world being made up before his eyes and he wanted nothing more to step in it.

"Well, we'd probably live an apartment first, because we'd need to go to uni. But it would be just the right size for us, not too big but most certainly not cramped. It would be very bright and the only dark thing there would be your wardrobe." Nico snorted and yawned, Will's soothing voice lulling him to sleep...

"And Taylor Swift would be playing all the time..." He heard Will say.

Nico closed his eyes and relaxed.

It was dark when Nico woke up. Because it was still January Nico expected this in the morning and was about to get up but the clock next to him saying 3:50 stopped him. He almost thought Will was having a nightmare again but no one was screaming, leaving Nico confused as to why he was up. An unsettled feeling washed over him but he tried to shake it off and go back to sleep. He turned over, desperately trying to push down the lump of panic that seemed to be suffocating him, unsure to why he was feeling so off, so early in the morning. As the panic peaked, Nico rolled over-

-and screamed.

He wasn't sure what over took him to react like that when he thought about it later, but at the time it was the only reaction he could think of. The hurt that hit him seemed to wind him as he heard other campers wake up at the sounds of his shouts. But he didn't care. He only cared about the fact that there was no Will sleeping next to him. Because he abandoned him. He must have, after their talk the evening before, Will must have realised how difficult it was being with him, how much misery came with Nico di Angelo and left, he must have, he _must-_

"NICO!" Kayla yelled, and he turned to face her, only now aware of the tears streaming down his face and the worried looks everyone was giving him. Kayla swallowed, composing herself, "Nico, what's the matter?" She asked more softly.

Nico stared at her like she was mad, did she not see that Will was gone? Did she not see the empty space next to him, did she not see the emptiness of his bed?

"Nico..." Leah whispered, prompting him to talk.

More tears welled up in Nico's eyes. Did they not care? "He's gone." He whispered.

Everyone around him shared concerned looks.

"Who's gone Nico?" Max asked.

"Will. Will's gone, don't you see it! He just..." Nico looked around him desperately, wondering if the entire world had gone mad. "Gone..." He whispered and before he realised what was going on, the emotions over took him completely and he because a sobbing mess, never being able to catch his breath and tears running and streaming down his already-stained cheeks.

Austin frowned. "But Will's right..." He trailed off as if someone had shh-d him which made Nico cry even harder. Was everyone just playing some big joke on him? Did they think it was funny?

"Nico, I think you should calm down a bit..." Leah tried.

Nico was rocking back and forth now. "I can't though, can I? Because he's abandoned me."

"Nico I'm sure Will didn't-"

"No, he did, he did and I don't know why and I'm scared because _he's gone._ Why did he have to _leave?_ Why do they always _leave me alone_ by myself, I don't want to be by myself any more, I'm _sick of it!"_ He let out another sob. "Why does everyone I love go?" He whispered. He wrapped his arms around himself and just rocked for what seemed like hours, ignoring all the Apollo kids.

After what seemed like days, the panic stared seeping away but Nico kept crying and crying until he first heard someone strum a guitar somewhere. He stopped rocking and listened carefully, unable to place where the sound had come from. Another chord rang out and another and soon a voice joined in with the chords. It was a little shaky and sometimes out of tune but it sounded like home to Nico. So he listened.

" _I met you in the dark,_

 _You lit me up,_

 _You made me feel as though,_

 _I was enough."_

Nico still didn't know where the voice was coming from but it sounded so much like Will that Nico just relaxed. As the song went on, nico started crying again, but this time because the song just made him miss Will so much, he felt like the song was made for the two of them.

 _"_ _Then you smiled over your shoulder,_

 _For a minute I was stone cold sober,_

 _I pulled you closer to my chest."_

Nico's mind went back to Christmas, how the two of them fell asleep on a bed in the Poseidon cabin, warm and protected in one another's embrace.

 _"_ _And you asked me to stay over,_

 _I said, I already told you,_

 _I think that you should get some rest."_

Nico's mind now went back even further to when Will had nervously asked him to sleep in the Apollo cabin with him, how flustered he had been and how adorable Nico had found it.

" _I knew I loved you then_

 _But you'd never know,_

 _'_ _Cause I played it cool when I was_

 _Scared of letting go._

 _I know needed you,_

 _But it never showed,_

 _But I wanna stay with you,_

 _Until we're grey and old._

 _Just say you won't let go,_

 _Just say you won't let go."_

Nico was running out of energy to cry anymore but he still laid there, listening to the sound of what was heaven to him.

" _I'll wake you up_ _with some_ ,

 _Breakfast in bed,_

 _I'll bring you coffee_

 _With a kiss on your head._

 _I'll take the kids to school,_

 _Wave them goodbye,_

 _And I'll thank my lucky stars,_

 _For that night."_

Nico smiled sadly remembering the conversation Will and him had the night before about a future, their future, no matter how unlikely that future was. He closed his eyes, letting the lulling voice send him to sleep once more as his panic dissipated into nothingness.

" _Just say you won't let go,_

 _Just say you won't let... go._ "

Nico knew then that no matter what, Will would never leave him, not really.

"Nico..."

Nico groaned. He did not want to get up right now, it was far too warm and he was far too tired to be dealing with anything.

"Nicooo..." The little voice whispered.

 _Well the little voice will have to bugger off, won't it._ Nico thought.

"Come on Nico, I know you're awake."

 _Oh shut up Will._ Nico thought.

Wait.

WILL.

Nico's eyes shot open and he lifted his head so quickly off the pillow, it connected with something very hard and a sickening crunch was heard.

"Bloody hell Nico, no need to break my nose..." A certain blond muttered.

Nico stared at the blue eyed boy in amazement for 10 seconds before throwing his arms around him, almost causing another incident. Slowly, Will wrapped his arms round Nico's waist as Nico's brain desperately tried to understand what was happening but unfortunately failed miserably.

A minute or so went by when nothing could be heard except the small pants he was letting out because of the emotions running through him. Then he leaned back just to look at him, just to show that he was real and in Nico's arms.

"Why did you leave me?" He whispered, close to tears again as he remembered the pain from the night before. "Why would you do that?"

Will sighed. "I never left Nico... I was right there the entire time."

Nico frowned. He was pretty sure Will was _not_ there the entire time, otherwise he wouldn't have had the slight mental breakdown.

"You... Just couldn't see me." Will whispered. "Or hear or feel me. I made that oath right? Well... when I said 'go through everything I went through', I meant _everything._ And Josh use to disappear for a week or two but when he left for an entire month, gods, it hurt. _So bad._ It felt like he'd abandoned me, because I was too much trouble and not good for him. So... I guess this is your way of experiencing my pain." Will said.

A tear slipped down Nico's cheek and Will pulled him in for another hug. "Gods I am so sorry, Nico, I'm so sorry."

"No, Will," Nico said before he could think. "I'm sorry. Last night was awful, and... You had to experience that for an entire _month_?" Nico whispered. He couldn't bear to think how Will coped.

Will ignored him, but Nico could appreciate that. Some memories just weren't supposed to be relived. So Will started speaking again. "But then I sang and you heard it and I was so happy. So I just kept going." He sighed and then tried for a smile. "You know I'd never leave you, don't you Nico? Not really."

Nico kissed him softly. "I know. I realised that when you sang to me."

Will winced. "Sorry if it wasn't the best, singing was never my strong point." He snorted half-heartedly, "Sometimes I'd sing in the shower and Kayla said she thought I was screaming for help. So... Sorry."

Nico laughed. This boy's world seemed to be collapsing before his eyes and he found the time to worry about how good his singing was? Nico sighed, a smile gracing his lips.

"I, for one, thought it was beautiful."

 **Song: Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur.**

 **Guys, I think the next chapter will be the last and I'm hoping it's going to be good. Fingers crossed! In the mean time, you can spend the next week reviewing or sending me PM's on improving my writing for how I'm going to improve the fic once it's done! Sorry if wasn't the best chapter... I try.**

 **Hope you're having a lovely February**

 **PalletshippingSolangeloLove**

 **x**


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